News

Judge Knight appoints acting clerk while committee vets applicants for job

By Bill Moss, Published: April 9, 2019

Kim Gasperson-Justice, Henderson County’s clerk of Superior Court, was sworn in as the county’s newest district judge on Friday, creating a vacancy in the clerk’s office that has been filled temporarily.

That same day, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Peter Knight appointed Christina Goodson as acting clerk of Superior Court and appointed a committee led by Sherri L. Brewer, an attorney in private practice, to review candidates and make recommendations for Gasperson-Justice's successor.

Goodson, an assistant clerk in charge of civil cases, will serve for up to 30 days or until a new clerk is sworn in.
Brewer and other committee members will vet candidates and send a list to Knight. The judge did not limit the applicant pool to attorneys, Brewer said.
Although Gasperson-Justice is an attorney, Henderson County has had non-attorneys in the job as clerk of court throughout its history.
Under state law, the appointed clerk will serve until the next countywide election cycle, which is in 2020. Filing is in December for the March 2020 primary and the Nov. 3, 2020, general election. After that election, the clerk would serve just two years before facing election again. Constitutional officers in Henderson County are elected in even-numbered non-presidential election years.