The Hon. Josephine Kerr is a judge for the Durham County Superior Court in the 14th Judicial District of the 1st Division in North Carolina. She was elected to the bench in 2018.
Prior to her election, Kerr worked as an assistant district attorney in Durham County and was a criminal defense attorney for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, an assistant attorney general in the Labor and Environmental Sections with the North Carolina Department of Justice, and an assistant public defender in Fayetteville. She also served as a quasi-judicial official with the Employment Security Commission.
In addition, Kerr has also taught as an adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, the Durham Technical Community College, and Concord School of Law.
She received a bachelor's degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Kerr then completed a J.D. at North Carolina Central University School of Law. She was admitted to practice in North Carolina in 2004.
Kerr began her legal career at the Landloss Prevention Project, where she represented minority farmers discriminated against by the federal government.
Kerr has held leadership roles in Alpha Kappa Alpha Soroity, Inc.; Jack and Jill of America, Inc.; and the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties. She also served as a board member of the Carolina Theater, the Urban Ministries of Durham, and the Durham Expunction and Restoration Program.
Kerr and her husband, Frederick, director of Building Services with Durham Public Schools, have three children.
She is registered as a Democrat.