The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the state's intermediate appellate court. Currently 15 judges hear cases in panels of three. The Court of Appeals reviews the proceedings that occurred in the trial courts for errors of law or legal procedure; it decides only questions of law – not questions of fact. The role of the Court of Appeals is to decide if the trial court correctly applied the law, or if there was prejudicial error in the conduct of the trial. The majority of cases appealed from the Superior and District courts in civil and criminal cases are heard by the Court of Appeals. One major exception is capital murder appeals in which the death penalty was imposed; these appeals go directly to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. In addition, direct appeals from certain of the state’s administrative agencies are heard by the Court of Appeals.Click here to view the NC Judicial Guide: 2026 General Election
Position/philosophy statement
I am committed to provide Equal Justice to uphold the Ruleof Law, to protect our citizens Constitutional Rights and to promoting judicial independence.
Current Occupation
Judge N.C. Court of Appeals
Campaign Phone
9196007800
I have been a Court of Appeals Judge for over 10 years and have written over 400 opinions. Prior to that I served as a Superior Court Judge and for 25 years I wad an attorney in private practice doing civil and commercial litigation. I represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of civil matters. Early in my career I served as a law clerk, staff attorney and the head of the central staff at the Court of Appeals.
My parties political platform, plays no role my work as judge.
The greatest obstacles to equal justice, is the lack of resources at the trial courts by having insufficient personnel to make the courts run efficiently. I addition the fact that many of people are unable to afford attorneys to represent them in legal disputes.
Ways I have been working on these issues is thru my service on the IOLTA Board that provided grants to organizations like Legal Aid of North Carolina that provided pro bono legal services. I also serve on the Supreme Court’s Practice Innovation Commission that is studying how to best make additional resources available to areas that do not have sufficient attorneys to meet the needs of our citizens.
I would appreciate your vote on November 3rd.
Position/philosophy statement
My judicial philosophy is summarized by the one-sentence directive the Chief Judge at OAH gave me when I first started there: “Get it right.” I believe passionately in due process, fairness, giving all sides a chance to be heard, and deciding cases.
Current Occupation
Administrative Law Judge
Age (optional)
59
Campaign Youtube URL
I have a combined 30 years of trial, appellate, and judicial experience. In almost 6 years as a NC Administrative Law Judge, I've authored almost 400 opinions. Ten were reviewed by the Court of Appeals and all were unanimously affirmed. I have never been reversed by the Court of Appeals.
As a lawyer I personally did more than 20 cases in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court and served as an amicus for multiple groups in others. Additionally, I litigated hundreds of trials, including 272 cases alone in the Office of Administrative Hearings, where I am now a judge.
While I am lifelong North Carolina Republican, there is no such thing as Democrat or Republican justice. I do not have a "side" when it comes to the law. Judges who take partisanship into account in their work undermine public trust and confidence in the fairness of the legal system. I apply the law equally and without fear or favor.
The greatest obstacle to justice is public perception that judges decide cases based on political partisanship. Absolute neutrality and fairness is a baseline requirement of a judge, and I've demonstrated that in my own work as a judge for more than six years.
I am the only Court of Appeals candidate of either party endorsed by the National Association of Police Organizations (350,000 sworn officers and 1,000 police organizations nationwide), the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police (part of the nation's largest police fraternal organization) and the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association - NC's largest law enforcement organization.
