SALISBURY — The Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, Paul Newby, is a well-versed and passionate historian as well the top legal mind in the state, and that zeal for history came to the forefront as he spoke to the local branch of the state bar association Wednesday night.

Newby was invited to the organization’s annual meeting at Salisbury Country Club by outgoing president of the district Timothy Readling of Davis and Davis.

“He is so very well spoken but so approachable and down to earth,” said Readling. “And he’s one of the most intelligent men I know, and that extends to his knowledge of history. I was truly delighted that he was able to join us.”

Newby has a long history in the legal profession in the state. After four years in private practice in Kannapolis and a year as a counsel to a real estate developer, Newby was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina in 1985, a post he held for almost 20 years. He was first elected to a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2004. He was elected chief justice in 2020 for an eight-year term, but Newby will reach mandatory retirement age in 2027, one year shy of a full term.

Newby last visited the Rowan County Superior Court several years ago when he and his wife, Macon, made a thank-you tour of all superior courts in the 100 counties of N.C. to offer his appreciation to all the staff.

“I have several favorite Salisbury stories,” said Newby to the nearly full room. “I remember in high school, after football practice, I would stop on the way home at a local filling station and get a 16-ounce bottle of Cheerwine out of the cooler and it would be frozen at the neck. I figured those practices were worth it to get my Cheerwine every day.”

He praised Salisbury for the town’s history, including the Regulators, a group of men who worked to address the unfair taxation and fee system of colonial officials during the 1760s.

“These were primarily subsistent farmers being taxed by bad sheriffs,” Newby said. “By that I mean like Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood bad sheriffs. These farmers were people who had lost their best milking cow in a tax collection, and the year before their best egg-laying hens. They got together to talk about what taxation was truly legal, and a group then got together and went into court demanding to be heard, and of course this was long before the Declaration of Independence.”

The rebellion of the Regulators culminated in the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. Then Governor William Tryon set out with a large group of militia troops and a number of cannons, intent on putting a stop to the Regulators’ riots. The Regulators had set up camp south of the Great Alamance Creek, and after negotiations broke down, a brief battle broke out. In the end, Tryon took 12 Regulators prisoner, and all were sentenced to death at trial. Six were pardoned at the last minute, and the other six were hung on June 19, 1771.

Although the Regulators were put down by Tryon at that point, many consider the Battle of Alamance to be the beginning salvo of the American Revolution, and as Newby pointed out, many of the Regulators were from Salisbury.

A few short years later, a document known as the Mecklenburg Declaration was written, in which citizens of Mecklenburg County declared themselves “free and independent people.” It was allegedly produced on May 20, 1775, but then reportedly lost in a fire in 1800 and reconstructed from memory by a participant in 1819.

The question of the “Meck Dec,” as it is called, continues today, and Newby told the members in the room that he promised he would bring all the historic information back around to the local meeting.

“North Carolina has a mock trial program that’s been going on for about 25 years,” Newby said. He himself is a judge at the state finals each year, and believes it is a big part of encouraging the next generation of local law students to “come back home. It’s a part of helping them understand there is value in working in places other than Charlotte or Raleigh.”

Along the same lines, he would like to create a new Moot Court competition, in which participants would argue “is the Meck Dec true, or did it never happen?” Students would be given the chance to participate in the arguments for and against.

“It’s part of the long-term strategy of bringing locals back home,” Newby said. “A way of introducing young people to the benefits of working in smaller communities, with tremendous history. And reminding them that when you work in places like Salisbury, you are not just a lawyer but a counselor,” often helping people with advice and guidance on issues outside of the actual court case.

Newby took a moment to praise all the help attorneys from across N.C. and even other states have provided to western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

“We believe in the motto that the court will be open and justice will be delivered without favor, without denial and without delay,” and the hundreds of volunteer judges and attorneys who have gone to help have made sure that is exactly what has happened. “People need help understanding all the legal terms and obligations and information when dealing with FEMA and other outlets to help them get back on their feet,” he said.

He also praised the new “e court” development, offering people the chance to handle much of court business online. “In areas in western NC where e courts are up and running, they were able to get back on track much faster. So it has its place.”

He added that those in the legal profession “live in a world of conflict, and we often hear stories of trauma that affect us. But life is tough for everybody. The holidays are coming, I want to encourage us all to remember, this is a time for us to be thankful. I thank you for all that you do, and thank God for a profession that seeks truth and justice.”

Readling said he appreciated the way Newby brought so much history back to the local connections, “I knew he would. I wanted our bar to hear from the chief justice because of his proactiveness and his professionalism, always.”