John S. Arrowood is an American attorney and judge who, in August 2007, was appointed 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...

 by Governor 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...

, replacing Judge Eric L. Levinson

Eric L. Levinson

Eric L. Levinson is an American jurist and lawyer,who served as a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law....

, who had resigned to accept a federal appointment. He was defeated in the subsequent election

North Carolina judicial elections, 2008

One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and six judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and Council of State elections.North...

 by Judge Robert N. Hunter, Jr.

Robert N. Hunter, Jr.

Robert Neal "Bob" Hunter, Jr. is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who serves on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Hunter was elected to the court in 2008, defeating incument John S...

.

Biography

Born in Burnsville, North Carolina

Burnsville, North Carolina

Burnsville is a town in Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yancey County.-Geography:Burnsville is located at ....

, Arrowood moved to Caldwell County

Caldwell County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...

 after the death of his parents. He graduated from Hudson

Hudson, North Carolina

Hudson is a town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,078 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 High School in 1975. Arrowood graduated magna cum laude from Catawba College

Catawba College

Catawba College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its current home of Salisbury...

 in 1979 and received his law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 School of Law in 1982. He worked on the Court of Appeals staff and then practiced law for many years in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 before serving as a state 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...

 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 November 2008

North Carolina judicial elections, 2008

One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and six judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and Council of State elections.North...

. He was defeated for a full term by Robert N. Hunter, Jr.

Robert N. Hunter, Jr.

Robert Neal "Bob" Hunter, Jr. is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who serves on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Hunter was elected to the court in 2008, defeating incument John S...

Arrowood is openly

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 and was the first openly LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

judge on the NC Court of Appeals.