Hon. Regina Parker

Judge Regina R. Parker graduated from Williamston High School in 1985 and thereafter received the Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University in 1989.  Following undergraduate school, Judge Parker earned the Juris Doctor degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Following law school, Judge Parker clerked on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for the Honorable Clifton Johnson.  In 1993, she became a partner with the law firm of Smallwood, Rodgers and Hayes where she worked as a trial attorney until 1997.  Judge Parker joined the law firm of the esteemed, late Attorney Earl T. Brown where she worked from 1998 until 2001, practicing juvenile and real estate law.

In 2001, Governor James B. Hunt appointed Judge Parker to the District Court bench in the Second Judicial District, comprising Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell and Washington County.  This historic appointment made Judge Parker the first woman and African American judge in the Second Judicial District.  Early in her tenure on the District Court, Judge Parker initiated the Teen Court program in the Second Judicial District, diverting teen offenders to a specialty, educational but non-judicial proceeding.  During her time on the bench, Judge Parker has been pleased to serve on the Juvenile Crime Prevention Committee for Martin, Beaufort, and Washington County and by appointment to the North Carolina Courts Commission.  Serving for more than 17 years, Judge Parker has been re-elected to the District Court by the citizens of the Second Judicial District without opposition.

On March 1, 2018, Chief Justice Mark Martin of the North Carolina Supreme Court appointed Judge Parker to the position of Chief District Court Judge for the Second Judicial District.  As the first female and African-American Chief District Court Judge in this judicial District, Judge Parker has begun to tackle head-on the mental health and opioid epidemics, which impact the lives of thousands of families in eastern North Carolina.  As the founding member of the Opioid Crisis and Mental Health Coalitions, she has convened a multi-disciplinary alliance of professionals to address these crises.  Currently, she is developing a Drug Court and Truancy Court to provide drug-addicted offenders with the intensive, individualized treatment they need to become healthy, law-abiding, and productive family and community members.  With the School to Justice Partnership North Carolina, Judge Parker has taken the lead to assemble community stakeholders in the Second Judicial District to develop and implement strategies to keep youth in school and out of court in Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell and Washington County.

Judge Parker serves on numerous community and professional boards. Her passion, however, continues to be serving the Lord, Jesus Christ, and her community.  She is a member of Believer’s Fellowship Conference Center where Rick Carson is the pastor.  Judge Regina Parker is married to Dr. Norris Parker, and they have two daughters, Maya, 19 and Morgan, 12.