J. William Copeland

James William Copeland (June 16, 1914 – February 3, 1988) was an American politician and jurist who served in the North Carolina Senate representing the 1st District from 1949 to 1959 and as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1975 to 1985.

Early life James William Copeland was born on June 16, 1914, in Woodland, North Carolina, to L. C. and Nora L. Bethall Copeland. He graduated from Woodland-Olney High School in 1930. He received a bachelor's degree from Guilford College in 1934 and a law degree from the University of North Carolina Law School in 1937. While at the latter school he served as the assistant editor of the North Carolina Law Review. He subsequently worked as a farmer and lawyer and served in the U.S. Navy at the rank of lieutenant from 1942 to 1946. He married Nancy Hall Sawyer on October 11, 1941 and had three children with her.

Copeland served four terms in the North Carolina Senate, representing the 1st District. he held court in 85 different counties and served on the bench until he was elected as an associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1974. He served there until 1984. A funeral was held two days later at the Murfreesboro United Methodist Church and he was buried in the Riverside Cemetery.