Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/742437
OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 1, 2016 UCW 27 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM was to research and write appellate briefs, similar to those that are filed with the North Carolina Supreme Court. My judicial career began as an Administrative Law Judge where I conducted hearings for five years. In that capacity, I authored decisions with the form, manner and content which is consis- tent with North Carolina Supreme Court decisions. In 1994 I had the honor of being appointed by Governor James B. Hunt to serve as a District Court Judge and, for ten years, presided over bench trials. In 2004, I was elected as a Superior Court Judge, where I have been serving for the last twelve years. In my current judicial role, I have presided over bench trials and jury trials, therefore generating and managing trial records for potential appellate review. My extensive experience in generating and managing trial records will be invaluable in under- standing and evaluating such trial records upon appellate review in North Carolina's highest court. I have presided over matters for all aspects of the legal system, includ- ing, but not limited to, criminal, civil, family, domestic violence, child support, traffic, administrative and involuntary commitment law. In 1995, I was certified as a juvenile law judge and in 2001, I was also designated as the "lead judge" by the Chief District Court Judge for Wake County's juvenile abuse, neglect and dependency court to facilitate its administration and to supervise the Court Improvement Project. With such an immersion in the lives of hundreds of school-aged children and their families, I developed a keen awareness and responsi- bility for the need to promote education for these youngsters, even in the face of their adverse familial circumstances. I have been appointed by various Chief Justices of the Supreme Court to serve on the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission, the Chief Justice's Media and the Courts Commission, and the Racial and Ethnic Bias Consortium. I have been a faculty member of The National Judicial College at the University of Nevada since 1993 and had the privilege of being inducted into their Hall of Honor as well as receiving the V. Robert Payant Award for Teaching Excellence. The diversity of my experience is an asset upon which I will effectively draw to address the variety of legal matters which come before the North Carolina Supreme Court. Education: Juris Doctorate Degree (with Honors), North Carolina Central Univer- sity, 1979; Bachelor of Arts Degree (History and Sociology), Duke University, 1976 Experience: Superior Court Judge, Judicial District 10-B (Wake County), 2004-pres- ent; District Court Judge, Judicial District 10 (Wake County), 1994-2004; Administra- tive Law Judge, Office of Administrative Hearings, 1989-1994; Assistant Attorney General, North Carolina Department of Justice, 1983-1989; Associate Attorney Gen- eral, North Carolina Department of Justice, 1980-1982; Research Assistant, North Carolina Department of Justice, 1979-1980. www.JudgeMikeMorgan.com Robert Edmunds Jr. UCW: What are your qualifications to serve in the Court System? I am the only candidate who has served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina. I have been an elected Justice for sixteen years and have written scores of opinions on all topics, all of which may be found at www.nccourts.org. As a result, my record as a Justice is an open book. I am endorsed by four former Chief Justices, two Republican and two Democrats, and have just been chosen Chair-elect of the American Bar Association's Appellate Judges Conference, which consists of over 1,100 state and federal appellate judges and practitioners across the nation. I am the only candidate who has served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The opinions I wrote while on that Court are also available online. I am the only candidate who has served in private practice. As a private practitioner, I was designated as board certi- fied specialist in state and federal criminal law (1993) and a board certified specialist in appellate practice (1994). I was given the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the standard attorney reference. I have served as the presidentially-appointed United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. As the leading federal law enforcement official in the Middle District, I personally pros- ecuted such cases as international heroin smuggling and public corruption. I also prepared and argued the federal appeals of the cases I tried. I am the only candidate with an advanced degree in law. I earned a LL.M. Degree (Master of Laws in the Judicial Process) that was awarded by the University of Vir- ginia School of Law in 2004. I have taught appellate writing and appellate practice as an adjunct professor at Campbell University School of Law. I am the only candidate who is a veteran. I served as a line officer in the United States Navy. In short, I have personal experience in all aspects of our legal system. A partial list of my endorsers may be found at my web page, www.justiceedmunds.com. North Carolina Court of Appeals Philip E. Berger Jr. Linda N. Stephens UCW: What are your qualifications to serve in the Court System? Dedication to the rule of law, intellectual ability, strong work ethic, and attention to detail. I have served on the Court of Appeals for 10 years. My body of work can be evaluated by anyone who reviews the decisions I have authored. A Judge must be willing to commit to the oath of office taken when sworn in at the Court of Appeals. That is, in pertinent part: to uphold the Constitutions of my Country and my State; to uphold the laws of my State when they are consistent with the Constitutions; to follow the law in every case to reach the result the law requires even when that result is different from my personal beliefs. My record indicates I have faithfully adhered to that oath. I have worked collab- oratively and cohesively with my colleagues who are from a different political party. Political ideology has never affected my interest in or ability to work with another colleague on the Court of Appeals. I also refer you to two opposing legal organizations in our state. Both have honored me with their highest awards in recent years, making me the first person to have ever received both awards. In 2015, I was awarded the J. Robert Elster Award for professional excellence by the NC Association of Defense Attor- neys (civil defense attorneys). This summer, I was awarded the Outstanding Appel- late Judge Award for 2016 by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (plaintiff's at- torneys). Moreover, I have been endorsed by individuals of opposite political parties and organizations that sometimes hold opposing positions to one another. I believe that these awards and endorsements speak to my commitment to treating everyone fairly, to favoring no one, and to continuing my work at the Court of Appeals. Jeffrey Hunter Murphy UCW: What are your qualifications to serve in the Court System? I have practiced law in the mountains of North Carolina my entire career. I spend my days helping real people. As a small town attorney, I represent clients in all facets of civil litigation, estate administration, and criminal accusations. I won my first case before the Court of Appeals after only seven months of practicing law. My wife, Kellie, and I are the proud parents of six-year-old twins, Brayden and Eden, and are members of Pinnacle Church in Canton. I have been endorsed by the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police and North Carolina Troopers Association. Our Court's greatest strength is the public's trust. To maintain this trust, judges must stand up for our rights recognized by the United States Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution. Judges are elected to honestly, fairly, and impartially decide each case on its own merits. However, these are not the only responsibilities of an appellate judge. Due Process re- quires that the law be applied to all people equally whether they are in court in Albemarle, Bryson City, Charlotte, Durham, or Edenton. To meet this obligation, an appellate judge must ensure that his or her opinions are written with clarity and legal reasoning that can be applied in a consis- tent manner. I am ready to accept this responsibility and humbly ask for your vote. You can learn more about me, the cases I have handled at the Court of Appeals, and those who support my candidacy at www.HunterMurphyForJudge.com or www. facebook.com/HunterMurphyforJudge/ . Margaret Phillips England Donald Ray Buie Robert Neal Hunter Jr. UCW: What are your qualifications to serve in the Court System? I have been either a NC Court of Appeals Judge or Supreme Court Justice for the past 8 years. Prior to that time I practiced law for 35 years. I have taught law at UNC- G, NC Central Law School, Elon School of Law, and Wake Forest School of Law and lectured to practicing lawyers in CLE classes. I am hard working at this job author- ing over 100 opinions a year for the court of appeals. I am fair to all litigants who appear before me and respected by my colleagues. A wide variety of legal and public policy groups have reviewed my qualifications and endorsed my candidacy including both former judges and justices of the appellate division from both parties, the NC Advocates for Justice, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Benevolent Association, the NCAE, the Sierra Club. In 2011 I was named by the Advocates for Justice as outstanding appellate judge of the year.