Caroline Elizabeth Heaton Nicholls (born 28 November 1956) is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
[1] Between 1981 and 1983, Nicholls completed her articles of clerkship in the Johannesburg law offices of Priscilla Jana, a prominent human rights attorney.
[1] In July 2009, the Judicial Service Commission interviewed Nicholls as a candidate for permanent appointment to the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
[1] In February 2019, the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted Nicholls for permanent appointment to one of five vacancies on the Supreme Court of Appeal.
[11] During her interview in April, Nicholls said that she had been "made to feel unwanted, incompetent and incapable" during her first acting stint on the Supreme Court, but that the environment had improved during the tenure of Judge President Mandisa Maya.