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North Carolina Roots, North Carolina Values

Sam J. Ervin IV, 56, was born and raised in Morganton, North Carolina, where he lives today. He is married to Mary Temple Ervin and has two step-children and two children. Ervin is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Morganton, where he has served as a deacon and currently serves as elder. Judge Ervin has also been active in various charitable and bar-related activities, and currently officiates youth, middle school, and high school men’s and women’s soccer matches.

Outstanding Academic Preparation

Judge Ervin attended the Burke County public schools and graduated in 1974 from Freedom High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College, where he majored in history, and he earned his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1981.

Distinguished Career

Ervin practiced law in Morganton from 1981 until 1999. He handled a wide range of civil, criminal and administrative matters, including many appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of North Carolina. As a practicing lawyer, Ervin developed a reputation as a thorough, careful, knowledgeable, and ethical advocate who was devoted to the best interests of his clients.

In 1999, Ervin was appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Governor Jim Hunt. He served on the Utilities Commission until 2009, when he joined the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

The Utilities Commission is a quasi-judicial agency responsible for regulating investor-owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and water and sewer companies providing service in North Carolina.

As part of its work, the Utilities Commission conducts hearings, rules on procedural motions, decides complex questions of law and fact, and issues detailed written orders that can be appealed to the appellate courts.

As a Utilities Commissioner, Ervin participated in making many important decisions, including requiring rate reductions for Dominion North Carolina Power and Duke and implementing energy legislation enacted by the General Assembly in 2007. In addition, Ervin was instrumental in the development of the rate freeze provisions of the Clean Smokestacks Act.

Ervin was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in November, 2008 and was sworn in as a Judge on January 1, 2009.

As a Judge on the Court of Appeals, Ervin is responsible for deciding appeals in a wide variety of criminal and civil cases heard in the District and Superior Courts and decisions made by various administrative agencies. In his three years on the Court of Appeals, Judge Ervin has written more than 275 opinions and participated in more than 800 court decisions.

Ervin’s work as a member of the Utilities Commission and a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals has been characterized by his in-depth knowledge of the issues, his devotion to a thorough understanding of the law, and his insistence on fair treatment for all parties.