Alan Z. Thornburg is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer and jurist, formerly a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals

North Carolina Court of Appeals

The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating groups of three...

.

Born in Sylva, North Carolina

Sylva, North Carolina

Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 2,588. It is the county seat, having taken over from nearby Webster in 1913.-Geography:Sylva...

, Thornburg earned a history degree from Davidson College

Davidson College

Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...

 in 1989 and a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 degree from Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

 in 1996. His father, Lacy Thornburg

Lacy Thornburg

Lacy Herman Thornburg an American lawyer and judge, was North Carolina attorney general from 1985 to 1993.After serving in the United States Army, Thornburg attended Mars Hill College when it was a junior college. He then earned a law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

, is a former North Carolina attorney general

North Carolina attorney general

The Attorney General of North Carolina is the head of the state's Department of Justice and provides legal representation and advice to all state agencies. He or she does not have the authority to prosecute specific crimes unless requested to do so by a local district attorney...

, state superior court judge, and federal district court judge.

After serving as an aide to U.S. Senator Terry Sanford

Terry Sanford

James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...

 and working in private practice in Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

 from 1997 to 2004, Thornburg was named to the North Carolina Court of Appeals

North Carolina Court of Appeals

The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating groups of three...

 in 2004. He is married and has two children.

In 2004, Thornburg sought a full eight-year term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals

North Carolina Court of Appeals

The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating groups of three...

, but was defeated by Barbara Jackson

Barbara Jackson

Barbara Jackson is an American attorney and jurist who was elected in 2010 to an eight-year term on the North Carolina Supreme Court....

 in the statewide judicial elections

North Carolina judicial elections, 2004

Judges of the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals are elected to eight-year terms in statewide judicial elections. In 2004, all these races were non-partisan. The U.S. Presidential election, 2004, U.S. House election, 2004, U.S...

.

Gov. Mike Easley

Mike Easley

Michael Francis "Mike" Easley is an American politician who served as the 72nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2009. He is member of the North Carolina Democratic Party and became the first North Carolina governor to admit to a felony in a deal that halted a lengthy...

 appointed Thornburg to the North Carolina Board of Transportation

North Carolina Department of Transportation

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina.-History:...

 in 2005 and then appointed him to a superior court

Superior court

In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...

 judgeship in 2009. He was elected to keep his seat on the superior court bench in the November 2010 election. Thornburg is currently the senior resident superior court judge for Buncombe County.