Retired Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Michael Beale looks at his portrait which will hang in Richmond County Superior Court.
An emotional Honorable Retired Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Michael Beale thanked the more than 100 in attendance in Courtroom A of the Richmond County Courthouse Thursday afternoon, “because you have played a special part in my life.”
After thanking the Richmond County Bar Association, his fellow public servants and his family, Beale dedicated the day to his son, Jordan, sharing some thoughts about the nation and court system he served.
“Unlike most nations that trace their roots to a common ancestry, America is unique ± it is a nation founded upon a set of principles and ideas,” Beale commented. “Our forefathers came to this land seeking freedom, primarily religious liberty.”
He recounted the founding principles of the nation, noting none of the original 13 states ratified the Constitution of the United States of America until the Bill of RIghts was added “to protect the people against tyranny like they had experienced under King George III.”
“In 1976, the year of our Bicentennial, I took an oath for the first time to uphold that Constitution, and eight times thereafter as a Judge I have taken that same oath,” Beale continued. “Today, you have honored me for my service to my country and my state, but my service pales in comparison to that of the young men and women in uniform who not only take an oath to uphold the Constitution, but who also, like our founding fathers, pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to that nation and the principles upon which it was founded.”
With that, Beale dedicated the day to his son, who is currently on leave from a foreign deployment.
“When I reflect on some of my father’s past cases, I realize he has seen things that a man shouldn’t have to see,” Jordan said. “... But even as he has seen evidence and something’s that broke his heart ... he never complained once ...”
A portrait by artist John Becker of Judge Beale was unveiled at the ceremony by the Richmond County Bar Association.
“Today, I have signed an administrative order to hang your portrait behind the witness stand in this courtroom, until such time as we move into the new courthouse,” Chief Superior Court Judge Tonya Wallace said from the bench following its unveiling.
Before the ceremony, Wallace called Beale “a man of honesty and integrity,” in her chambers.
“He has always been a very thoughtful, considerate and deliberate judge,” Wallace said.
Beale is a native of New Hanover County. After graduating from the UNC School of Law in 1976, he served as Assistant District Attorney in the 20th Judicial District until 1981.
From 1981 through 1994, Beale served as a District Court Judge, and was appointed Chief District Court Judge in February of 1995.
He was elected to the Superior Court Bench in 1996, and served as Senior Resident Superior Court Judge from January 1997 until his retirement on December 31, 2008. He currently serves as an Emergency Superior Court Judge.
Among the more than 100 who attended Thursday’s ceremony, there were at least one dozen fellow judges, and many more attorneys, court officials and public officials.
Trial Court Administrator Lynn Chewning recalled her time working in Beale’s office.
“He was wonderful to work for - always conscientious, understanding and helpful when I’d call him and tell him I didn’t know how to do something,” Chewning recalled.
North Carolina Prosecutorial District 20A District Attorney Michael Parker also shared his recollections of the man who swore him into the District Attorney’s Office, then swore him in as the chief prosecutor, saying Beale’s vision stood out in his mind.
“His legacy is that he will always treat you with respect, he will hear your arguments before he makes his decision and what he determines the law to be - that will be your judgment,” Parker said. “There is no higher compliment you can pay to any judge in the state of North Carolina.”
Parker credited Beale with having the vision of building a new judicial center in Richmond County, as well, during his oratory.
“He understands that there is no better snapshot of how the county views its citizens than in its judicial center,” Parker said, numbering public interactions at the county courthouse. “... It is a symbol of the fact that in our society we cannot let violence or self-determination or self-will decide our disputes.”
He called the portrait, “nothing more than oil and canvas,” and the judicial center “bricks and stones piled on the ground,” but pointed to Beale’s public service as a lasting monument.
Also addressing the audience were Richmond County Sheriff Dale Furr, Richmond County Clerk of Court Kathy Gainey, former Clerk of Court Cathy Wilson, Richmond County Bar President Reece Saunders and several officials from other counties in the state’s 20A Judicial District, along with Legal Counsel to Gov. Perdue Edwin Speas.
Speas was on-hand to present Beale with the Order of the Longleaf Pine Award from the Governor’s Office.
Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.
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