The Hon. Robert C. Ervin is a judge for the Burke County Superior Court in the 25A Judicial District of the 5th Division in North Carolina. He joined the bench in 2003.
Ervin initially served as a superior court judge for the 25A Judicial District of the 7th Division of the Superior Court prior to its combining with the 5th Division when the North Carolina General Assembly revised the districts in 2018.
Prior to beginning his judicial career, Ervin was an attorney at Byrd, Byrd, Ervin, Whisnant, McMahon & Ervin in Morganton since 1988.
He received a B.A. from Davidson College in 1982. Ervin then completed a J.D. at Harvard Law School in 1985.
He was appointed by the North Carolina Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Indigent Defense Services Commission and the Rural Courts Commission. Ervin also served as a board member of the Burke County United Way and is a past president of the Habitat for Humanity of Burke County.
He was named Outstanding Trial Judge of the Year by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice in 2008.
Ervin was recommended by United States Senator Kay Hagen for appointment to the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in 2009.
His grandfather, Sam J. Ervin, served as a United States Senator; his father, the Hon. Sam J. Ervin, III, served as a judge for the United States Court of Appeals; and his brother, the Hon. Sam J. Ervin, IV, is a justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Ervin and his wife, Dana, have two daughters. He attends the First Presbyterian Church of Morganton.
Ervin is registered as a Democrat.