First Sri Lankan-American elected US District Court Judge in North Carolina, USA

Roy Wijewickrama has become the first Sri Lankan American, to be elected as the District Court Judge by popular vote in the 30th Judicial District of North Carolina, USA, held recently.

According to the NC State Board of Elections Roy defeated Stephen Ellis by more than 4000 votes. He garnered 53.88 percent of the vote. Roy won all seven counties in the district.

Roy will be sworn in as a Judge on 1 January 2011, and assume duties immediately thereafter. He will take the oath of Judge in the Haywood County Superior Court in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Roy served as Assistant District Attorney (Crown counsel) for the 30th Judicial District in the State of North Carolina from September 2001 until August 2007. During this period he prosecuted a multitude of cases in all seven counties, including criminal cases from murder and rape cases to child sex abuse cases. These included hundreds of jury trials and bench trials. In addition he served as a board member for the County’s Child Abuse Advocacy Center. He led multidisciplinary Teams with numerous agencies including law enforcement, Department of Social Services, and the District Attorney’s Office.

Thereafter he worked as a partner in the Waynesville, NC, law firm, Kerstien, Davis & Wijewickrama for a period of one year. While in private practice, he focused on both criminal and civil litigation, handling cases in State, Federal and Tribal courts.

In 2008 he was appointed as Tribal Prosecutor for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the native Indians of USA. During this time he was responsible for prosecuting crimes occurring in the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Since he was appointed to this post, the number of convictions leading to active jail time, increased dramatically.

Roy is a 1993 graduate of Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC, USA. He received a BA in Political Science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and a Juris Doctor, JD degree from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He is married to Jodi O’Neil and resides in Waynesville, NC with his wife and two daughters.

Roy is the son of Chandra and Ramanee Wijewickrama of Panadura and Makola, SriLanka. They immigrated to NC, USA in 1964 from Sri Lanka. Roy has two brothers, David Wijewickrama, an Attorney at Law in private practice in Waynesville, North Carolina and the other Rohan Wijewickrama  an Ear Nose Throat Surgeon, working in Buffalo, New York.