Joseph Branch

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 and earned his law degree from Wake Forest University.

Branch served in the state House of Representatives from 1947 through 1954. He was a close advisor to Governor Luther Hodges in the 1950s and managed the successful 1964 campaign of Governor Daniel K. Moore. Moore appointed Branch to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 1966. Branch was then elected by the voters in 1966, 1968, and 1976. Governor Jim Hunt appointed Branch to replace Susie Sharp as Chief Justice in 1979, making him the state's twentieth Chief Justice.