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. He then attended New York University School of Law, where he was a Root Tilden Scholar. In November 2018, the firm merged with Fox Rothschild, a national law firm. Exum is currently a retired counsel from that firm.

Professional affiliations Exum is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, serving on the task force on alternative to litigation, the committee on judicial independence, and the appellate rules study commission. He is a member of the American Bar Association where he served on the house of delegates, as chairman of the criminal justice standards committee, and chairman of the ad hoc committee on death penalty costs. From 1995 to 2003, he was a fellow and state chair for the American Bar Association Foundation. He is also a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

He was a board member of the Conference on Chief Justices, chair of the Standing Committee on Criminal Justice Standards, and a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the International Society of Barristers, and the Gilford Inn of Court. He was also a member of the Fair Trial Initiative, Court Watch, and the legal honor society Phi Delta Phi.

Awards and honors

His portrait was dedicated at the North Carolina Supreme Court, in October 2015 John McNeill Smith Jr., Award, North Carolina Bar Association's Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section, 2009 Judge John J. Parker Award, North Carolina Bar Association Alumni Achievement Award, New York University School of Law Herbert Harley Award, American Judicature Society James Iredell Award, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Campbell University Norman A. Wiggins School of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill William Richardson Davie Award, Trustees, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Distinguished Service Award, General Alumni Association, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Frank Porter Graham Award, American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Distinguished Service Award, Psi chapter, Sigma Nu fraternity,1974 Distinguished Service Award, Greensboro Jaycees, 1968 Benjamin F. Butler Memorial Award, New York University School of Law, 1960 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1957

Personal life Exum married Judith Jamison on June 29, 1963. They have three children: James Gooden Exum, Steven Jamison Exum, and Mary March Exum.

He served on the Central Selection Committee for the Morehead Scholarship Foundation from 1975 to 1988. He is also a past president of the UNC General Alumni Association.

He served on the board of the Paul Green Foundation, Sustainable North Carolina, and Habitat for Humanity. He belongs to the Capital City Club in Raleigh, the Carolina Club, the Conversation Club, the Greensboro City Club, the Masons, the Milburnie Fishing Club, the Neuse Sailing Association, the Sherwood Swim & Racquet Club, the Shriners, the Wake County Chittlin' Club, and the Watauga Club.