NC Supreme Court Associate Justice
Phil Berger Jr (R) Judicial Philosophy- Our Constitution is a legal text, not a living document, and lawyers in robes should not create rights where none exist. Courts must enforce laws as they are written and give reasonable interpretation to regulations to ensure predictability and consistency amongst litigants. Americans must have respect for the law and our legal institutions, and that can only be accomplished if judges are fair and consistent, use common sense, and follow the law. We can no longer afford to have activist judges who substitute their judgment for clear and unambiguous laws.
Lucy Inman (D) Judge for 6 years. judges are duty bound to serve as impartial arbiters of the law, our status as elected officials does not authorize us to advance any policy or political agenda. Judges owe a duty to all North Carolinians to make sure the law is applied consistently and equally to every person, without fear of retaliation by any person or institution, and without favor to any person or institution. It is essential that judges remain independent of the other two branches of government, because it is the role of the third branch to serve as a check on actions of the other two branches that violate the federal or state constitution. Judges should be held accountable to honestly and plainly explain every opinion they write.
Statutes and common law governing civil justice have a disparate impact on people of color for reasons including a disconnect between rules and standards enacted by the white majority and the alternative rules and practices followed by racial minorities who distrust the governing system. They exist in the form of cash bond conditions of pre-trial release, court fees and fines, disparate access to legal counsel in both criminal and civil proceedings, racial disparity in criminal sentencing and civil jury awards, the ability of private actors to exploit the law to deprive racial minorities of property rights, and implicit biases that prevent the most well-intended jurors and judges from applying the law equally to people of different races.
Judges alone cannot dismantle systemic racism, because our constitutional authority does not include making law or changing legislative and executive branch policies. Appellate judges are duty bound to follow the laws enacted by our legislature, except for laws that violate the protections of the federal and state constitutions. Appellate judges are also duty bound to follow precedent, except in cases in which the rationale underlying that precedent has materially changed. Appellate judges are not restricted from identifying racial injustice resulting from statute and precedent, even if that injustice does not violate the state or federal constitution. Appellate judges have a duty to identify injustices that are consequences of their decisions and to ask questions about the risk of racial injustice created by our justice system. I have fulfilled these duties and pledge to fulfill them going forward. Investing the funds necessary to deliver the necessary tools — appointed counsel, waiver of fees and costs for low wealth and indigent people, specialty courts focusing cases involving substance abuse, mental health, veterans, for example), improved technology to help the courts operate more efficiently and to make them more accessible to the public, and innovations in partnerships with stakeholders including law enforcement, civil rights advocates, schools, and health care systems. The legislature has the authority and responsibility to provide such funding.
NC Supreme Court Associate Justice
Tamara Bellinger (R) “I believe in the importance of maintaining a strict Constitutional interpretation of the laws passed by the General Assembly. It is imperative that we have justices who refrain from legislating from the bench.”
Mark Davis (D) Judge for 8 years. “I took an oath to uphold the North Carolina Constitution and follow the law. I take that oath very seriously. My political beliefs have no bearing whatsoever on how I do my job as a judge. I would never decide a case or write an opinion based on political beliefs or personal bias.”
“I am troubled by the existence of any racial inequities in our criminal justice system. As judges, we lack the power to pass new laws. Instead our responsibility is to fairly decide the cases that come before us. In several recent cases, our Court has issued opinions making clear that no racial prejudice will be tolerated in our justice system. I am hopeful that the Racial Equity Task Force recently created by Governor [Roy] Cooper will result in significant improvements to our ability to ensure equal justice under the law. I also believe that judges would benefit from training on the subject of implicit bias.”
“We must ensure that all persons have equal access to justice. It troubles me that indigent litigants often have trouble obtaining legal representation. I would like to see the General Assembly increase funding for such purposes. As noted above, it is also essential that we do everything possible to eradicate discrimination in our system of justice.”
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 4
Tricia Shields (D) A judge should be unswayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism.” This means that even though we elect our judges in North Carolina, judges serve all the people, the justice system, and the law.”
“I learned in my early experience as a law clerk to Chief Judge Hedrick that a judge must make decisions based on the law, without regard to their own personal opinions or political views, or whether those decisions will be popular.”
“I will make decisions based on the law, and uphold the Constitution. I come to this position with no political agenda. I will consider each case carefully, make sure that I understand the facts, and carefully apply the law to those facts.”
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Data shows that stops, arrests, convictions and sentences are disproportionately higher for our Black citizens than our white citizens. I do not believe that progress can be made until our elected officials acknowledge that this disparity is real.
“I believe that all humans have biases, and it is incumbent on all officials at all levels of the government to be cognizant of their own biases and work to avoid being influenced by them in their decision-making. I believe that all judges should engage in implicit bias training, and I commit to do so myself. In my current professional life, I have an intentionally racially diverse team, and we routinely discuss these issues and challenge each other as we work”
April C.Woods (R) Judge for 18 years.
“Every party that appears in front of me is treated with the same fairness, dignity, and respect as any other party regardless of who they are, what position they hold, or who their lawyer is. Each party has a right to be heard, and a judge’s job is to listen to all of the competent evidence presented in court before making a decision.”
“A judge has a duty to follow the law as it is written, not to make a decision based on what he/she thinks the law should be. I have consistently demonstrated that I will uphold the law and will always try to make the right decision without regard to whether or not it will be popular with voters or any political party. Integrity is doing what is right even when no one is watching, and I believe that I have demonstrated that I am a person of integrity. It is my judicial philosophy, not my political affiliation, that guides my independent decision-making on the bench.”
“Some judges favor some races or special interest groups over others. Some lawyers think that judges should treat their friends differently even if that would require a judge to cover up a lawyer’s misconduct, but that is highly unethical. It is no wonder why so many people are skeptical about the legal profession and the court system. There needs to be more training for judges about implicit bias and professional ethics in order for the system to be improved and for equal access to justice to be assured.”
” There is a lack of appropriate funding for district attorneys, court appointed attorneys, probation, required programs in civil court, and many other areas in the judicial system. Without adequate funding, necessary programs cannot run appropriately and meet their stated goals and the wheels of justice move slowly, if at all. The cost of litigation, court fees, filing fees, and fees related to the completion of required programs for civil, criminal, and juvenile cases, such as substance abuse classes, anger management classes, domestic violence classes, or other required programs can keep people from doing what is necessary to change their lives, get their driver’s license reinstated, or even reunify with their children in foster care. There needs to be a substantive change to the system to remove financial barriers to justice for the people who are trying to fulfill their obligations but lack the funding to do so.”
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 5
Lora Christine Cubbage (D) Great Story- Single Mother barber turned into District Attorney. “Being an elected official is only how I acquire the seat at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Being an independent jurist is encompassed in the Oath of Office that I take as a vow to the service I am committed to. I don’t think one should have anything to do with the other. Our judiciary needs independent jurists to do the great work needed and entrusted to judges to do by the voters. We must commit to the work of justice which means to remain independent to regain the trust of our citizens in our judicial system”
” No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from or what your religious beliefs or political beliefs are, you deserve equal protection of the laws, equal access to the justice system and impartiality.”
“The legislature makes the laws and a judge interprets and applies the law. It is not the duty of a judge to make laws from the bench. With that said, when a law is challenged by a citizen and brought before the Court it is the duty of the Court to analyze and interpret that law, and make a decision based on the same. We have many laws put in place by the legislature and many which were challenged and ruled upon by the Court that allows me to be declared a citizen as a black person, allows me to vote, allowed me to go to a desegregated school and allowed me to run for public office. Therefore, I do believe that though the legislature makes law the citizens have a constitutional right to challenge that law and the Courts have a duty to hear and rule on those challenges.”
Fred Gore (R) Judge for 6 years. In the Reserves, Father, Man of Faith. That’s about it.
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 6
Gray Styers (D) “the commitment of a judge should be to uphold the rule of law for everyone, respect the value of settled legal precedents, and safeguard the protections of our Constitution.”
“I believe systemic racism exists, and, by its very definition, exists throughout society at varying levels and manifested in varying ways. The criminal justice system is a part of the broader society, and the people who work in it are part of the broader community. First, it is incumbent upon all of us to listen, learn, and thoughtfully examine implicit biases. We need our criminal justice system to be more diverse and inclusive in its hiring and personnel. We also we need to look for and eliminate structural or functional barriers to equal access to justice”
“an appellate judge has two basic tasks. First, he or she is called upon to review and ensure that the law was correctly applied by the trial judge in disputes between private parties in civil actions and between the State and private parties in criminal or administrative cases. Second, appellate judges are called upon to ensure that the legislative and executive branches of government exercise the authority that is available to them subject to appropriate constitutional limits. I believe that the role of a judge in attempting to carry out both of these functions is to decide specific cases on the basis of the existing law and the properly-established facts without attempting to further any sort of political or ideological agenda”
” the judicial system needs resources to upgrade its technology that can both improve court efficiency and make the courts more accessible and transparent”
Chris Dillon (R) 8 years as a judge.
” I am one of a handful of judges on our Court who first ran and won when our judicial races were non-partisan. I have never been active in party politics and have approached my role as a judge in an aggressively non-partisan way. I have the support from both Republican and Democratic former judges/office-holders”
” I cannot comment on whether the system itself is racist. But no matter the system we adopt, there will be problems where there are people in the system with racist attitudes. Certainly, the more we can identify and root out these attitudes, the closer to a perfect justice system we will come.”
“North Carolina should change the way judicial campaigns are financed. Judicial candidates have typically raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, largely from attorneys who may one day appear before them and from PAC’s. Also, outside groups have become much more actively involved in running ads in judicial races. I believe the old system worked better and created a sense that judicial campaigns were not as partisan as they are now”
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 7
Reuben F.Young (D) Judge for 6 years.”Being an independent judge is necessary to the fair administration of the law. As an elected official, my commitment to North Carolinians is to be fair, independent and impartial. As both a judge and elected official, I am committed to these principles.”
“Systemic racism permeates all aspects of our society, not just the criminal justice system. In order for us to “dismantle it” we have to ensure that the law is applied equally to everyone. Our system of justice cannot continue to be perceived as a dual system promising justice for some, but not for all”
“The biggest changes that need to be made to the judicial system in North Carolina is ensuring fair and equal access to the courts for all North Carolinians and the fair application of the law to all citizens.”
Jeff Carpenter (R) Judge for one year. Highway trooper for 6 years.
“I believe that the law should be applied fairly and equally to everyone.”
“I am a conservative, meaning the law should be applied as written and Judges should not legislate from the bench.”
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 13
Chris Brook (D) Judge for one year.
“I put being an independent judge first”
Does systemic racism exist? -“Yes. As Chief Justice [Cheri] Beasley eloquently stated in her recent comments following the death of George Floyd, “Too many people believe that there are two kinds of justice. They believe it because that is their lived experience — they have seen and felt the difference in their own lives. The data also overwhelmingly bears out the truth of those lived experiences. In our courts, African-Americans are more harshly treated, more severely punished, and more likely to be presumed guilty.”
“Broadly, we should consider implicit bias training for members of the judiciary”
“On a more personal level, I value diversity and equity in my chambers. That is why I have emphasized hiring clerks, interns, and externs of color. I have also emphasized hiring women, individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ community, and people with different religious beliefs.”
” Judges should not blindly defer to actions of the legislature. We must be mindful of the limited role judges play in our system of government while also recognizing that, for more than 200 years, that role has included, on occasion, invalidating legislative actions that transgress the state or federal constitution or otherwise outstrip the legislature’s authority”
“providing for specialized treatment courts, diversion programs for youthful offenders, and adequate funding for indigent defense programs.”
” Investing in technology will make it safer and easier for North Carolinians to file court documents, access our dockets and calendars, and potentially even resolve some matters through video-conferencing or other remote appearance means.”
Jefferson G. Griffin (R) “The Constitution is a judge’s ultimate authority. The Constitution dictates the appropriate balance of power amongst the governmental branches.”
“Creating formal mentorship opportunities for new attorneys and providing more practical training opportunities for young lawyers could benefit the judicial system. Changes that strengthen the public’s confidence in the judicial system are always necessary”
How will you work to ensure equal access to justice for all? -“I will continue to serve Wake County, the state of North Carolina, and the United States of America just as I do in my current jobs. Whether in the courtroom or in the field, I never forget the oaths I swore to protect and defend the Constitution. The Constitution belongs to all of us.”
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