S. Gerald Arnold is a North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 lawyer and jurist who served as a judge of 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...

, including service as that court's Chief Judge (1992–1998).

Arnold graduated from East Carolina University

East Carolina University

East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...

 and the University of North Carolina School of Law

University of North Carolina School of Law

The University of North Carolina School of Law is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the nation and is the oldest law school in North Carolina. It is consistently ranked in the top-tier...

, and practiced law with U.S. Sen. Robert B. Morgan. A Democrat, he served two terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives

North Carolina House of Representatives

The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

 for Harnett and Lee counties, and was the state campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Hargrove Bowles in 1972. Arnold was elected to the first of several terms on the Court of Appeals in 1974. President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 nominated Arnold to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is the United States District Court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The...

 in 1980 but the U.S. Senate did not act on the nomination before Carter's term expired. He retired from the Court of Appeals in 1998 and went to work for Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Co. of North Carolina, retiring as president of the company in 2010. Later that year, he was appointed by North Carolina Attorney General Roy A. Cooper

Roy A. Cooper

Roy Asberry Cooper, III is the current North Carolina Attorney General. He is a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party.-Personal life and education:...

as interim head of the State Bureau of Investigation crime lab, but after accepting, he abruptly changed his mind and declined the post.