Eric L. Levinson is an American jurist and lawyer. In 2014, he unsuccessfully sought a seat as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He also completed a public policy program in comparative economics and politics through the Fund for American Studies in Washington, D.C., and an international finance studies program in London, England, as part of his undergraduate requirements.
Levinson served as an N.C. prosecutor and as an N.C. District and Family Court Judge prior to his election to the N.C. Court of Appeals in 2002. In 2006, he unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Supreme Court of North Carolina. In 2007, Levinson resigned from the Court of Appeals, accepting a Bush administration appointment as the Justice Attache to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq for the United States Department of Justice. Thereafter, he consulted in Kabul, Afghanistan, providing counsel on the establishment of new commercial courts venues. Former N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Levinson to the North Carolina Superior Court in 2009.
Judicial and Prosecution Experience
Judge Levinson joined the District Attorney's Office in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties, N.C. as a felony prosecutor following law school, and he prosecuted drug, property, sexual assault, and homicide offenders until he was elected to the N.C. judiciary in 1996 as a District and Family Court Judge. In this role, he was recognized for implementing best-practices in our criminal and child support enforcement courts and became a N.C. Certified Juvenile Court Judge.
In 2002, Levinson was elected statewide as one of fifteen members of the N.C. Court of Appeals in Raleigh, where he served as an Associate Judge and the Court's youngest member and authored hundreds of legal opinions in disputes and lawsuits concerning virtually every area of the law.
In 2007, Levinson was appointed by the Bush administration as the Justice Attache to Iraq for the U.S. Department of Justice. As Justice Attache, Levinson managed the U.S. government's diplomatic relationship with the Iraqi judiciary and its Chief Justice, Medhat al Mahmoud, and advanced the establishment of Major Crimes Courts where terrorists were prosecuted. Although stationed at the U.S. Embassy inside the International Zone, Levinson traveled to other population centers and provinces throughout Iraq, meeting with military and civilian leaders who were responsible for the administration of the rule of law in Iraq.
In 2008, he worked in Kabul, Afghanistan as a Rule of Law and Courts Advisor. In this role, he collaborated with members of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan and helped draft and advance guidelines and procedures for establishing and resourcing commercial courts in Afghanistan to adjudicate business, contract and related civil conflicts.
Upon his return to the U.S. in early 2009, a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, business professionals, attorneys and community stakeholders endorsed his appointment to the N.C. Superior Court. As a Superior Court Judge, Levinson holds court in counties all across western, central and eastern N.C. and presides over violent crimes against persons (homicide, sexual assault, armed robbery, serious assault) as well as civil conflicts (complex business disputes, class action, property).
Adjunct Instructor
Levinson has taught as an adjunct instructor at a variety of N.C. colleges and universities, including (1) UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, where he taught an offering on Ethics in the Masters of Public Administration Program; (2) the Charlotte School of Law, where he has taught offerings on Juvenile Law, Remedies, Appellate Advocacy, and Civil Litigation; and (3) the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has taught courses in American Constitutional Law. Levinson has presented lectures to other state court judges through the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute of Government.
Community
Judge Levinson presently serves as a member of the board of advisors for Serving Alto Cayma, a mission originating in the Charlotte area that serves a large community in Peru; the Board of Advisors for the Wildacres Leadership Institute, a leading leadership organization based in Raleigh; and the Administration of Justice Committee for the North Carolina Bar Association. Levinson is an active member of Charlotte Rotary, too.