WS Chronicle

Attorney Artrese Ziglar made history last week when she became the first Black woman to receive the Harvey Lupton Award, which is awarded annually by the Forsyth County Criminal Defense Trial Lawyers Association.

Named after the Honorable Harvey A. Lupton, who served as a Superior Court judge here in Forsyth County for over a decade, the Harvey Lupton Award is given to criminal defense attorneys who have shown distinction in the courtroom and in the community. Nominations for the award are submitted and voted on by members of the association. 

When Ziglar got word that she had been chosen by her peers to receive the award, she said she was filled with pride and joy. Although she’s not the type of person who likes a lot of public recognition, Ziglar said being recognized by other attorneys really means a lot. “It really made me feel like my hard work is noticed by my peers,” Ziglar continued. “These are people I’m in the courtroom with every day and people I look up to, so it really meant a lot for me to find out that I was selected for it because they know what it takes.” 

When discussing her journey to becoming a lawyer, Ziglar said it’s something she’s wanted to do since she was in elementary school. Ziglar mentioned that she recently found a diary from when she was in the fifth grade and on the first page she wrote “I want to be an entertainment lawyer.” Even though the type of law has changed, Ziglar is doing exactly what she always wanted to do. 

“I have the diary to prove it,” Ziglar laughed. “I’ve known that I wanted to be a lawyer since the beginning. My path was kinda laid out and thank goodness I listened to all the steps that the Lord put in line for me and I didn’t go in a different direction.” 

After graduating from Parkland High School in 1999, Ziglar received her bachelor’s degree from the University of NC Greensboro (UNCG). From there, Ziglar went on to receive her law degree from NC Central University where she graduated Cum Laude. 

For the past 16 years Ziglar has worked as an assistant public defender with the Forsyth County Public Defender’s Office. Over the years, Ziglar has served as lead counsel in dozens of trials in both District and Superior Court. 

In the beginning Ziglar said she saw working in the Public Defender’s Office just as an opportunity to get trial experience, but after she started working and saw the impact she was making, she fell in love with it. 

“Once I started, I realized the office was great and I quickly realized with me being from here, I was really helping people who I grew up with, people from families that I knew, so I kinda knew these background stories and you learn very quickly not everybody is just a criminal or a bad person,” Ziglar said. “So my skills started growing as well and I started realizing how I was really helping people, so it has really been the best of both worlds and here I am, 16 years later.”

Earlier this week Ziglar also filed to become a candidate for Forsyth County District Court judge. Ziglar said she’s been thinking about running the past few years and just felt the time was right. She said after helping the community in her role at the Public Defender’s Office, she felt now was her chance to help in an even bigger role. 

If elected, Ziglar said her goals in every case will be to make sure the law is applied correctly, treat everyone who appears before the court fairly, and ensure everyone receives their day in court. 

“When the Lord tells me to move, I move, and over the past couple of years it’s been laid on me,” Ziglar said. “As a PD (public defender), I’m representing my clients and even though there are a lot of them, I’m still confined to what I can do in my public service. As a judge I’m able to reach more of the county.”