The Hon. J.C. Cole (Ret.) was a judge for the Dare County Superior Court in the 1st Judicial District of the 1st Division in North Carolina. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Bev Perdue in 2009. Cole retired on March 31, 2021.
The 1st Judicial District includes Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Perquimans, and Chowan Counties.
Prior to his appointment, he presided as a judge for the 1st Judicial District Court since 1994. Before that, Cole worked in private practice in Perquimans County, including managing his own law firm.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Livingstone College and a master’s degree in criminal justice from North Carolina Central University. Cole then worked as a federal agent for ten years before completing a J.D. at North Carolina Central University School of Law.
He is a past president of the Conference of North Carolina Superior Court Judges and of the First Judicial District Bar. Cole also served on the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Committee and the Governor’s Crime Commission.
He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, considered the state’s highest honor. Cole is also the recipient of the Dorothy M. Crowell Citizenship Award, the Robert L. Mason Distinguished Service Award, and the Friend of the Court Award.
He is registered as a Democrat.