John S. Arrowood
American attorney and judge
title: "John S. Arrowood" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1956-births", "living-people", "21st-century-american-lawyers", "21st-century-american-lgbtq-people", "american-episcopalians", "american-gay-politicians", "lgbtq-anglicans", "lgbtq-appointed-officials-in-the-united-states", "lgbtq-judges", "american-lgbtq-lawyers", "lgbtq-people-from-north-carolina", "north-carolina-court-of-appeals-judges", "north-carolina-democrats", "people-from-burnsville,-north-carolina", "university-of-north-carolina-school-of-law-alumni", "university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-alumni"] description: "American attorney and judge" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Arrowood" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American attorney and judge ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | John S. Arrowood |
| office | Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| term_start | April 24, 2017 |
| appointer | Roy Cooper |
| predecessor | Douglas McCullough |
| term_start1 | September 7, 2007 |
| term_end1 | December 31, 2008 |
| appointer1 | Mike Easley |
| predecessor1 | Eric L. Levinson |
| successor1 | Robert N. Hunter Jr. |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Burnsville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| party | Democratic |
| residence | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| alma_mater | UNC Chapel Hill |
| profession | Attorney |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = | name = John S. Arrowood | image = | image_size = | caption = | office = Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals | term_start = April 24, 2017 | term_end = | appointer = Roy Cooper | predecessor = Douglas McCullough | successor = | term_start1 = September 7, 2007 | term_end1 = December 31, 2008 | appointer1 = Mike Easley | predecessor1 = Eric L. Levinson | successor1 = Robert N. Hunter Jr. | birth_date = | birth_place = Burnsville, North Carolina, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | birth_name = | party = Democratic | spouse = | children = | residence = Charlotte, North Carolina | alma_mater = UNC Chapel Hill | profession = Attorney
John S. Arrowood (born November 4, 1956) is an American attorney and judge. In April 2017, Arrowood was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Roy Cooper, to replace Judge Douglas McCullough, a Republican who resigned one month before he would have reached the mandatory retirement age.
He ran for a full term on the court in 2018 and won, becoming the first openly gay person elected to a statewide office in North Carolina.
Previously, in August 2007, he was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Mike Easley, replacing Judge Eric L. Levinson, who had resigned to accept a federal appointment. Arrowood was defeated in the subsequent 2008 election.
Biography
Born in Burnsville, North Carolina, Arrowood moved to Caldwell County after the death of his parents. He graduated from Hudson High School in 1975. Arrowood graduated magna cum laude from Catawba College in 1979 and received his J.D. degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1982. He worked on the Court of Appeals staff and then practiced law for many years in Charlotte, North Carolina before serving as a state superior court judge from March through August 2007. Arrowood has been a member of the board of the North Carolina Railroad, the N.C. Banking Commission, the N.C. Rules Review Commission, and the N.C. Arts Council.
Since Arrowood was appointed to fill an unexpired term, his seat was on the ballot in 2008. He was defeated for a full term by Robert N. Hunter Jr.
He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Court of Appeals in 2014, seeking the seat made vacant by the retirement of Judge John C. Martin. Arrowood came in second out of 19 candidates.
Arrowood is openly gay and was the first openly LGBT judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Electoral history
2018
| party = Democratic Party (United States) | candidate = John S. Arrowood (incumbent) | votes = 1,855,728 | percentage = 50.79% | party = Republican Party (United States) | candidate = Andrew Heath | votes = 1,797,929 | percentage = 49.21% | votes = 3,653,657 | percentage = 100% | winner = Democratic Party (United States)
2014
| party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = John M. Tyson | votes = 557,700 | percentage = 23.84% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = John S. Arrowood | votes = 336,839 | percentage = 14.40% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Keischa Lovelace | votes = 226,159 | percentage = 9.67% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Marion Warren | votes = 143,279 | percentage = 6.13% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Elizabeth Davenport Scott | votes = 131,330 | percentage = 5.61% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Marty Martin | votes = 120,281 | percentage = 5.14% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Hunter Murphy | votes = 103,361 | percentage = 4.42% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Ann Kirby | votes = 96,468 | percentage = 4.12% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Valerie Zachary | votes = 92,361 | percentage = 3.95% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Lori G. Christian | votes = 88,819 | percentage = 3.80% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Tricia Shields | votes = 79,357 | percentage = 3.39% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Daniel Patrick Donahue | votes = 66,168 | percentage = 2.83% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Abe Jones | votes = 59,712 | percentage = 2.55% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Chuck Winfree | votes = 52,978 | percentage = 2.26% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Jeffrey M. Cook | votes = 48,336 | percentage = 2.07% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Jody Newsome | votes = 38,544 | percentage = 1.65% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Betsy Bunting | votes = 36,163 | percentage = 1.55% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Sabra Jean Faires | votes = 31,759 | percentage = 1.36% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = J. Brad Donovan | votes = 29,580 | percentage = 1.26% | votes = 2,339,194 | percentage = 100%
2008
| party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = Robert N. Hunter Jr. | votes = 1,544,825 | percentage = 53.70% | party = Nonpartisan politician | candidate = John S. Arrowood (incumbent) | votes = 1,332,107 | percentage = 46.30% | votes = 2,876,932 | percentage = 100%
References
References
- "NC Gov. Cooper: Governor Cooper Appoints Judge John Arrowood to the North Carolina Court of Appeals".
- (April 24, 2017). "Court of Appeals judge resigns in reaction to bill shrinking bench; Cooper appoints new judge in wake of veto".
- (7 November 2018). "Some takeaways from NC's elections :: WRAL.com".
- [http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/story/260942.html Charlotte Observer endorses Arrowood and others for Court of Appeals] {{webarchive. link. (2012-07-31)
- (April 25, 2017). "News - Daily Reflector".
- "Charlotte Observer: Arrowood running for appeals court".
- "Arrowood gets nod for NC court from Democrats - WBTW-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Florence, SC".
- "NC SBE Contest Results".
- [http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/john_arrowood News & Observer] {{webarchive. link. (2008-06-03)
- "11/06/2018 Official General Election Results - Statewide". [[North Carolina State Board of Elections]].
- "11/04/2014 Official General Election Results - Statewide". [[North Carolina State Board of Elections]].
- "11/04/2008 Official General Election Results - Statewide". [[North Carolina State Board of Elections]].
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