John M. Tyson

John Marsh Tyson (born July 14, 1953) is an American jurist and government official who currently serves as a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Judge John M. Tyson was born in Cumberland County, North Carolina on July 14, 1953.

He is the youngest child of Henry McMillan Tyson and Addie Amelia Williams.

Tyson graduated from Terry Sanford High School, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1971.

His father served six terms as a Representative in the N.C. House between 1973 and 1985.

In his youth, John worked on the family farm in Gray's Creek, hanging picking and hanging tobacco leaves for harvest.

In May 2021, Tyson was accused by Black Lives Matter activists of attempting to hit them with his vehicle before driving onto the sidewalk.

On May 14, 2021, Tyson was issued a summons to appear in court in June to answer to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

On June 14, the charges were dismissed.

After graduating from high school, Tyson attended University of North Carolina at Wilmington, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and earned his Bachelor of Arts, (B.A.) degree with an English and secondary education emphasis, as a member of the dean's list, in 1974.

He served as a North Carolina probation and parole officer for the North Carolina Department of Correction, from 1975 to 1976.

He has also been a public school teacher and deputy sheriff in Cumberland County.

Tyson has had at least 30 years of experience in the private practice of law, senior level corporate real estate development and counsel positions, and at least 25 years as a professor of law and author.

Tyson is a member of the North Carolina and Virginia State Bars and a certified mediator and arbitrator.

He is a past member of the North Carolina Property Tax Commission and past elected chairman of the Cumberland County Joint Planning Board and the Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District.

Judge Tyson is a frequent CLE presenter and author, and holds an AV-Pre-eminent peer-reviewed rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Bar admissions

Professional organizations

He attended Notre Dame Law School – through the London School of Economic & Political Science, in London, England, during their summer program, in 1977.

He attended Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1979, the law school's inaugural class.

In addition, Tyson has earned numerous professional degrees and accreditations.

He worked as a real estate director and counsel for Revco Drug Stores, Inc., from 1982 to 1993 and in similar capacities for Family Dollar Stores, Inc., from 1980 to 1982.

In 1988, he attended Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, in Durham, North Carolina, and earned his Master of Business Administration, (MBA).

He was elected to the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, where he served as vice chairman and later chairman of the board, and served from 1992 to 1996.

Tyson practiced law in Fayetteville from 1993 until 1996 and from 1996 until his election to the court, with a brief tenure as the senior vice president of development for Blockbuster Entertainment Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1996.

He was a member of the Legislative Research Committee on Impact Fees, Exactions and Dedications by the President Pro-tem of the Senate in 1994.

He was appointed to the Legislative Research Committee on Private Property Rights by the President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate served in 1995.

He was appointed to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission by the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, where he served from 1997 to 1999.

In 2000, Tyson was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

He also previously served on the court from 2001 to 2009.

He attended the New York University School of Law, in New York, for the Appellate Judges' Seminar, during the summer of 2001.

His term began in January 2001.

He was appointed to the North Carolina Judicial Conference Committee on Compensation and Benefits by the chief justice of North Carolina (2002–2008).

In May 2004, he attended the University of Virginia School of Law, in Charlottesville, Virginia, and earned a Master of Laws in judicial process, (LL.M.) degree.

He was defeated for re-election to a second term in 2008.

He continued to serve as a recall judge on the Court of Appeals, and as an emergency North Carolina Superior Court judge, and was an adjunct professor of law at the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (Campbell University).

Tyson was most recently appointed to the North Carolina State Ethics Commission by the North Carolina House of Representatives for a three-year term beginning in 2013.

Tyson was elected to the Court of Appeals again in November 2014 for a term beginning in January 2015.

Prior to serving on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Tyson worked at Tyson & Associates, where he practiced landlord-tenant, land use, and real property law, civil litigation and criminal defense.

Judge Tyson is a Board Certified Specialist by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization for real property law, business, commercial, and industrial transactions, the only North Carolina judge so certified.