N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-­Goodson spoke on Thursday, July 13^, 2006 at N.C. Central University in the university's summer, pre-law program. NCCU's six-week summer pre-law program exposes prospective students to the legal profession and helps build thinking and writing skills.

Timmons­Goodson, the court's first black female justice, appointed this year by Gov. Mike Easley to fill the vacancy left by the election of Sarah Parker, an associate jus­tice, who was appointed to the chief justice post.

Timmons-Goodson served as a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals from 1997 to 2005, when she retired. Before that, she spent 13 years on the District Court bench and was a prosecutor and private attorney in Fayetteville.