5 appeals court seats contested

Handling heavy caseload emerges as a top issue

The elections for six seats on the N.C. Court of Appeals are supposed to be nonpartisan and intended to focus on the candidates' experience and character. But politics being politics, some candidates are playing up their party credentials, and at least two candidates have been major players in their respective parties.

The campaigns are pointing out a key issue for the 15-member court -- rising caseloads in an underfunded court system. Voters will need to decide who is best capable of dealing with that situation.

All but one of the seats are contested, and at least one of those contests will result in a new face on the bench.

Chief Judge John C. Martin is running unopposed, while Judge John M. Tyson did not survive the primary. The position carries an eight-year term and pays $131,531 annually, except for the chief judge, who receives $133,817 annually.

Because the races are nonpartisan, voters who cast nothing but a party-line vote will have missed their opportunity to weigh in. All but one of the 10 candidates in contested races qualified for public financing of $160,000 for each of their campaigns. The other candidate, Jewel Ann Farlow of Gibsonville, indicated during the primary that she would not raise or spend $3,000, but she later withdrew that commitment for the general election. Her most recent campaign finance report shows she raised $1,580 as of June 30.

The appeals court judges work in three-member panels to review lower court decisions and make sure the law was applied properly. The court's opinions are intended to instruct lower court judges in how to interpret the law. The court does not review death penalty appeals, which go straight to the N.C. Supreme Court.