The nation’s state court system is losing one of its leaders, the Charlotte Observer reports:

After three decades on the bench, Sarah Parker soon will find herself in an unfamiliar role:  No cases to hear, no opinions to write, no court system to run.

This week Parker, chief justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court for eight years, steps down after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 72 Saturday.

“There may be something to be said for statutory senility,” she says.

A former Charlotte lawyer, Parker will leave with a reputation as a respected if unassuming jurist who guided the court through choppy waters with a steady hand and even temperament.

“Sarah is a quintessential professional,” says Republican Bob Orr, a former associate justice. “She has a sense of the history and tradition of the court as well as the system. She’s been a good chief justice in difficult times.”

Read the full story here.