Inman was in private practice from 1992 to 2010. She and her husband, Billy Warden, lived in
Los Angeles, California from 1992 to 2000, She was recognized for her pro bono work by the
California State Bar. In 2010, she was appointed to the superior court as a special judge by Governor
Bev Perdue. In the
2014 judicial election, she received endorsements from retired North Carolina Chief Justices
Henry Frye,
James Exum,
I. Beverly Lake Jr., and
Burley Mitchell. In January 2019, Inman announced that she was a candidate at the
2020 North Carolina judicial elections for an eight-year term as a justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court. In November, she was narrowly defeated by Republican
Phil Berger Jr. In 2022, she again ran for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, but was defeated by
Richard Dietz. Inman has also served on the boards of the Lucy Daniels Foundation and North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and has chaired the judicial division of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. She currently serves on the board of NC BarCARES, a non-profit entity funded by the
North Carolina Bar Association that provides confidential mental health and substance abuse treatment for attorneys and judges. She is a member of the
National Association of Women Judges and has served on the education committee of the Appellate Judges Education Institute. ==Personal life==