The judges of the N.C. Court of Appeals have to be heavy lifters. This intermediate-level court, housed in newly renovated quarters on West Morgan Street in Raleigh, makes final decisions on most appeals lodged in North Carolina from lower-court decisions.
Appeals Court judges must be well versed in the law, versatile, hard-working and able to get along with their colleagues, with whom they serve on rotating three-judge panels. In contrast, they don't have to be legal game-changers - this is a court that relies on precedent and established law. It's therefore fitting that the candidates run on a nonpartisan basis, as has been the case for several years.
On Nov. 2, five of the 15 Court of Appeals seats are up for statewide election to eight-year terms. One seat, however, is uncontested - that of Judge Sanford Steelman, 59. He is a worthy judge who has served one full term and will now get a second. Another race, discussed in a separate editorial below, is the Instant Runoff Voting contest featuring 13 candidates vying to fill the seat opened up by Judge Jim Wynn's promotion to the federal courts. Here are our views of the remaining races, in the order they appear on the ballot.
JANE GRAY The incumbent here is Judge Ann Marie Calabria, 62, who seeks a second term, but there are good reasons to favor Wake County District Court Judge Jane Gray, 60. Gray has valuable experience in the court system as a judge and lawyer. She also worked in the Attorney General's Office, with the legislature and on judicial commissions. She has particular expertise in juvenile law, a plus on this court, which reviews child custody cases. Gray is endorsed by a wide range of groups. Calabria, of Morrisville, also has considerable experience as a judge and in juvenile law, but in campaigning comes uncomfortably close to stating political views. Gray would be a change for the better. ( judgejanegray.com)
RICK ELMORE This is one of those contests that shouldn't have been. Judge Elmore, 59, has been effective during his eight years on the Appeals Court. But in the four-way May primary - in one of those bizarre twists that can occur in an ultra-low turnout election - he came in second to Steven Walker, 30, who is judicial clerk to departing Supreme Court Justice Ed Brady. Electing someone with Walker's modest experience as a lawyer would amount to judicial error by the voters. Elmore ( judgeelmore.com) is far and away the more qualified candidate, and as he notes, "The Court of Appeals is not an entry level position."
MARTHA GEER This is another race with a clear choice. Judge Geer, 51, of Raleigh is the incumbent, with a useful specialty in business law. She is a proven Appeals Court judge ( judgemarthageer.com) and there is no compelling reason to replace her with Dean R. Poirier, 52, a lawyer from Mount Olive who describes himself as "a Christian, Constitutional, Conservative."
