Brooke Locklear Clark
District Court Judge of Robeson County, NC
In office
2018 -
Preceded byChief District Court Judge J. Stanley Carmical
Personal details
BornMay 21, 1979
Pembroke, NC
NationalityAmerican Indian
Domestic partnerAdam Clark
ChildrenCamryn and Dean
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Brooke Locklear Clark (May 21, 1979 - ) is a District Court Judge for Robeson County, North Carolina since she was sworn in on August 18th, 2018. Clark is a Robeson County native born in Pembroke, NC.

She was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill the seat of Chief District Court Judge J. Stanley Carmical and worked to be the first American Indian woman appointed to the Robeson County District Court.

Early Life

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Brooke Locklear Clark was born May 21, 1979, in Pembroke, North Carolina, to former Superior Court Judge Gary and Molly Locklear. She grew up as an active member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina community. The legal field wasn't always in her path, as a young female Clark actually wanted to pursue medicine until she had encountered molecular biology which caused her to change directions to the study of humans, or anthropology.[1]

Education

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In 2001, Clark graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor's Degree and continued here education here to later earn her Juris Doctor. Her experiences in undergrad led her to the legal field after multiple different networking and volunteer experiences at UNC at Chapel Hill.[2] During her time at law school, Clark spent many of her summers getting a taste of law while working in Robeson and surrounding counties where she finally found her passion for the field.

Career

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For over 13 years before holding office, Clark was a private practice attorney with specializations in juvenile, domestic, criminal, civil, and traffic law. [3]She was a partner at Locklear & Clark, LLC and served as an attorney for the Robeson County Department of Social Services. Clark is also an acting member on a number of committees such as the Law Day Committee, Robeson County Bar, Bar Candidate Review Committee, and is also a member of the Lumberton Junior Service League[4].

Clark is also an active member of her community as well as a Bible Drill Leader at the Berea Baptist Church and her role with Friends of the Robeson County Public Library. In 2018, Clark announced her intent to file for the open seat as the District Court Judge in Robeson County, she was then appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper later that year.

She still currently serves as the District Court Judge of Robeson County and was recently appointed to the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice in July of 2020.[5] She is also apart of the Family Drug Treatment Court where her experience in law helps families overcome substance abuse within the home.[6]

  1. ^ Sinclair, Tomeka (2020-09-26). "District Court Judge Brooke Clark wants to use her time on the bench to help people". Robesonian. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  2. ^ Sinclair, Tomeka Sinclair (2020-09-26). "District Court Judge Brooke Clark wants to use her time on the bench to help people". Robesonian. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. ^ "Judge Brooke Locklear Clark". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  4. ^ "Judge Brooke Locklear Clark". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. ^ "Governor Cooper Appoints Members to North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice". governor.nc.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  6. ^ robesonian (2018-07-27). "Cooper taps Clark to fill District Court seat". Robesonian. Retrieved 2022-10-13.