Joseph Branch (judge)

Joseph Branch (1915–1991) was an American jurist who served as Associate Justice (1966–1979) and then Chief Justice (1979–1986) of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

He was a native of Halifax County, North Carolina.

[1] Branch served in the state House of Representatives from 1947 through 1953.

Moore appointed Branch to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 1966.

Governor Jim Hunt appointed Branch to replace Susie Sharp as chief justice in 1979.

Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court, Spring Term, 1968. Branch's portrait is at the lower left.