On the morning of December 1, 2023, Ricky W. Champion was sworn in by The Honorable Judge D. Thomas Lambeth, Jr., as the first Chief Public Defender of the new 17th Defender District.
He took the oath of office in the Historic Courthouse of Alamance County, with his wife, Kelley, by his side.
Champion grew up in Durham County. He has spent his career protecting the Constitutional Rights of defendants, having more than 39 combined years of criminal legal experience on both the prosecutor and defense sides of the law.
Most recently, Champion was elected in 2020 as District Court Judge for Judicial District 15A, Seat 3.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 1984.
Champion’s legal career began in Durham with the Law Offices of John Bourlon. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Second Prosecutorial District in 1985 and transferred to the Fifteenth-A Prosecutorial District in 1987. In 1996, Champion became a partner in Hemric, Lambeth and Champion specializing in criminal defense and personal injury. As a prosecutor, Champion handled all kinds of criminal cases from capital murder to speeding. He was the primary child abuse and sexual assault prosecutor in Alamance County and was the first attorney to use DNA evidence in a felony case. In private practice, Champion became a Criminal Law Specialist and maintained that status until he returned to the District Attorney’s Office in 2019.
As a district court judge, he worked to ensure all parties in criminal and civil courts were treated with respect and dignity whether they had attorneys or not.
He is an active volunteer and has dedicated countless hours to community service with Civitans, Masons and Shriners, Little Portions Food Pantry, and the Knights of Columbus. He has served on various boards including the following in Alamance County: Mental Health, Child Abuse & Fatality Task Force, Rape Crisis Alliance/Cross Roads, and D.A.R.E. of Burlington.
Champion lives in Burlington with his wife, Kelley Carrigan Champion. They have four adult children, Erica, Zachary, Brennan, and Ty.