The North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers honors the life, service, and enduring legacy of Ola M. Lewis, a groundbreaking jurist whose career exemplified excellence, innovation, and unwavering commitment to justice.
Judge Lewis was a native of North Carolina and a graduate of Fayetteville State University and North Carolina Central University School of Law, institutions that have long served as pipelines for public-minded legal leadership. In 1993, at just 28 years old, she was appointed to the District Court bench, becoming the youngest judge serving in North Carolina at that time and the first African American woman judge in the Thirteenth Judicial District. Her appointment marked a remarkable milestone in the state’s judicial history.
Judge Lewis went on to serve with distinction across multiple levels of the judiciary. After seven years on the District Court, she was appointed as a Special Superior Court Judge, presiding over cases in a twenty-one-county circuit. She later became Resident Superior Court Judge and Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for Judicial District 13B, serving Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus counties. Over the course of her career, she served nearly two decades on the bench and is recognized as the longest serving female judge in North Carolina history.
Beyond her courtroom service, Judge Lewis was a visionary judicial leader. She established several specialty and therapeutic courts in Brunswick County, including drug treatment court, mental health therapeutic court, DWI therapeutic court, domestic violence therapeutic court, and the SOAR court focused on accountability and rehabilitation. She also helped lead community responses to the opioid crisis through the creation of the Brunswick County Opioid Addiction Task Force, reflecting her belief that justice and public health are deeply connected.
Judge Lewis passed away in December 2019. In recognition of her extraordinary service and impact, the Brunswick County Courthouse was renamed the Ola M. Lewis Judicial Center, an honor rarely bestowed upon a trial court judge in North Carolina and a testament to the respect she earned across the legal community.
Why This Matters
Judge Ola M. Lewis’s legacy matters because it demonstrates the transformative power of leadership on the bench. From becoming the youngest judge in the state, to innovating problem-solving courts, to leaving a physical and institutional legacy that bears her name, her career reflects what is possible when excellence, courage, and compassion guide judicial service. Her life reminds us that representation matters, mentorship matters, and that justice is strengthened when judges understand both the law and the communities they serve.
As members of NCABL, we honor Judge Ola M. Lewis for the history she made, the lives she impacted, and the enduring legacy she leaves within North Carolina’s judiciary.
