Cooper taps three new District Court judges

RALEIGH — Three lawyers have been appointed to the District Court bench by Gov. Roy Cooper.

All three have trial experience, a release from Cooper’s office says, with two of them now serving as assistant district attorneys.

“These new judges have served North Carolina with distinction over the years and bring extensive legal experience to the bench,” Cooper said in the release. “I am grateful for their willingness to continue to serve our state in these new roles.”

The appointees and their judicial districts are:

• Alicia Slaughter, Judicial District 8, serving Nash, Edgecombe, and Wilson counties. Slaughter is an assistant district attorney in the 7th Prosecutorial District, serving Halifax County, and earlier served as the chief assistant district attorney in 8th Prosecutorial District, serving Nash County. She fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Beth Freshwater-Smith as a special Superior Court judge. Slaughter received her Bachelor of Science at the University of South Florida and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
• Yohan Namkung, Judicial District 29, serving Hoke and Moore counties. Namkung is an assistant district attorney in the 29th Judicial District and is a captain serving as a military lawyer in the North Carolina Army National Guard. He will fill the vacancy created by appointment of Judge Regina Joe to the Superior Court bench. Namkung received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Juris Doctor from the Campbell University School of Law.
• Christopher Gray, Judicial District 30, serving Union County. Gray is an attorney at Burns & Gray, P.A. and has extensive trial experience. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William “Tripp” Helms. Gray received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his Juris Doctor from the Appalachian School of Law.