Joe John
Joseph Robert John Sr. was an American politician and jurist who was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, having served from 2017 to 2025. He had formerly been a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1992 until 2000. Previously, he had been a state Superior Court and District Court judge, based in Greensboro. He had also been a prosecutor and practiced law at the firm of Pell, Pell, Weston & John.
Life and career
In 2010, John was named interim director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation crime lab by N.C. Attorney General Roy A. Cooper. He was named to the post on a permanent basis in 2011. John retired in 2014.John was elected as a Democrat to the North Carolina House of Representatives, District 40, in 2016, defeating incumbent Rep. Marilyn Avila. In 2018, John was re-elected to a second term after defeating Avila in a rematch. John won a third term in 2020, defeating Republican challenger Gerald Falzon.
During his time in office, John had focused on fully funding North Carolina schools, eliminating partisan gerrymandering, and fighting against what he called the "War on an Independent Judiciary".
John announced his resignation from the legislature on January 19, 2025, effective January 21st, after his cancer diagnosis was deemed terminal. He died the next day, on January 22, at the age of 85.
Electoral history
2022
2020
2018
2016
Committee assignments
2021–2022 session
- Appropriations
- Appropriations – Justice and Public Safety
- Judiciary II
- Families, Children, and Aging Policy
- Transportation
2019–2020 session
- Appropriations
- Appropriations – Justice and Public Safety
- Judiciary
- Families, Children, and Aging Policy
- Transportation
2017–2018 session
- Appropriations
- Appropriations – Justice and Public Safety
- Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs
- Insurance
- Judiciary II
- State and Local Government II