Tifton native first woman to be appointed to Federal Bench in North Carolina

Tracy Coley Ingram/The Tifton Gazette CNHI

TIFTON — Tifton native Laura Turner Beyer has been appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to the position of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of North Carolina. She will succeed the Honorable George R. Hodges in November 2011, when he retires from service.

Beyer is the first woman to be appointed to the Federal Bench in the Western District of North Carolina.

Beyer was born in Tifton in 1971 to parents Dr. Joe Turner and Bette Turner. She graduated from Tift County High School in 1989.

“While I was growing up, my parents always said I would make a good lawyer, probably because I was so argumentative,” Beyer says with a laugh. “I did get a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Davidson University, but I really wasn’t interested in politics. I was more interested in government, and service.”

Beyer graduated from Davidson in 1993 after what she referred to as “a fantastic experience." She attended law school at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, receiving her Juris Doctorate in 1998.

She served as Judge George R. Hodges' permanent law clerk and worked in private practice with the firm Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore, L.L.P.

“I can’t say I knew all along what I wanted to do after college. It’s more like God led me here – so here I am and I’m thrilled," she said.

Beyer says Tifton will always be home to her. “I’ve been in North Carolina since 1989, so I’ve been away from Tifton longer than I actually lived there; but Tifton will always hold a special place in my heart for the part it played in making me who I am.”

In the years she served as clerk to Judge Hodges, he often joked to her that it seemed after meeting her he found himself running into people from Tifton everywhere he went. “He used to joke with me that Tifton must be the center of the universe. He even had a bumper sticker printed for me that said 'Honk if you’re from Tifton.' I put it on my car and you would be surprised how many honks I did get from that sticker,” laughs Beyer.

Beyer resides in Charlotte, N.C., with her husband Jon and their two children; 9-year old Mary John and 6-year old Thomas.

Her plans for the future are to serve the court and community to the best of her ability. Beyer states, “I plan to serve this court well. This is a 14-year appointment and I look forward to doing a good job of serving the people who come before the court. I am proud to be the first woman to serve on the Federal Bench in the Western District of North Carolina. I hope to make other women, including my daughter, proud.”

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