Rhonda Lynn Patterson-Wrighten

Rhonda L. Patterson‑Wrighten is the incumbent judge of the North Carolina District Court, District 26, Seat 21, and is seeking re‑election in the November 3, 2026 general election. She assumed office on January 1, 2023, and her current term runs through December 31, 2026; the Democratic primary for the seat was canceled, allowing her to advance directly to the general ballot ¹.

Patterson‑Wrighten earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Romance Languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 and a Juris Doctor with honors from the same institution’s School of Law in 2006 ⁹¹¹.

After law school she began her career at two nationally recognized firms—Alston + Bird LLP and KL Gates LLP—before becoming a partner at Offit Kurman LLP. She later founded and served as managing attorney of The Patterson Law Office, PLLC, focusing on domestic and civil litigation. Her bar admissions include the State Bar of Georgia (2006) and the State Bar of North Carolina (2009) ¹¹.

On the bench, Judge Patterson‑Wrighten has spent the past three years presiding primarily in family and domestic‑violence courtrooms, handling both civil and criminal matters. She emphasizes efficiency, responsiveness, and a respectful courtroom atmosphere, noting that she “badge into a courtroom… with patience and to extend the grace that we all need” while making legally sound decisions and holding people accountable when necessary ⁹.

Beyond her judicial duties, she is active in numerous professional and community organizations, including the North Carolina Bar Association, Mecklenburg County Bar Association (where she serves on the Board of Directors and as Vice Chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee), Council for Children’s Rights, A Child’s Place, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She also teaches as an adjunct professor of Business Law at Johnson C. Smith University and volunteers with local schools and churches ¹¹.

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