James G. Exum

James Gooden Exum Jr. also known as Jim Exum (born September 14, 1935) is an American jurist who served on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1975 to 1994, and as chief justice from 1986 to 1994. Under his leadership, the court "expanded civil rights, took a new approach to criminal justice, and increased available remedies in tort law." Associate Justice Mark A. Davis has compared the Exum Court to the Warren Court at the federal level. Early life Exum was born in Greene County North Carolina. He was the son of Mary Well (née Bost) and James Gooden Exum. In 1953, he graduated from Snow Hill High School as class valedictorian. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead Scholar, a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and a member of the honor societies Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated with an A.B. in English in 1957. He then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a Root Tilden Scholar. He received an LL.B. in 1960.