Candidate for NC Superior Court judge, Democrat Sean A.B. Cole, answers our questions
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Candidates for NC Superior Court judge, District 10C, Seat 1
Democrat Sean Andrew Burke Cole and unaffiliated candidate Stephanie Davis are running against Republican incumbent Becky Holt. Get to know the candidates with our 2024 NC Voter Guide.
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To help inform voters in the Nov. 5, 2024, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The News & Observer to help make this coverage possible.
Name: Sean Andrew Burke Cole
District/seat: Superior Court District 10C, Seat 1 (Wake County)
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 5, 2024: 53
Campaign website: seancoleforsuperiorcourt.com
Current occupation: Self-employed attorney
Professional experience: I have 27 years of civil trial and appellate practice, having represented thousands of individuals and many corporate clients. I’ve tried cases in all our trial court levels across North Carolina. I have extensive mediation and arbitration experience. I’m licensed in all North Carolina state and federal courts. I am a regular continuing legal education speaker. For 10 years, I was the editor and a chapter author of the 2nd through 5th editions of the North Carolina Manual of Complaints.
Education: B.A. in History, with Honors in Independent Studies of the Career of Justice Thurgood Marshall, from King University in Bristol, Tennessee, 1994; Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 1997
Please list any notable government or civic involvement. Member of Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church, lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association, Wake County Bar Association Professionalism Committee and Bar Awards Committee, two-time recipient of the Wake County Bar Association’s President’s Award for service to the legal community, former volunteer for Project Together (providing free representation to battered spouses seeking restraining orders and other relief). Member with multiple positions of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (recipient of the Ebbie Award and the Order of Service). Five-time recipient of the N.C. Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Honor Society
What areas of the law do you have experience in, as a judge or attorney?
Criminal, civil litigation, appellate, government/public interest, family law, insurance and labor/employment.
Other: I also have worked as an arbitrator, a certified North Carolina Superior Court mediator and have taught continuing education classes to lawyers for over 25 years.
What is your judicial philosophy?
Judges must know and fairly apply the law. They must listen to and carefully consider the arguments of attorneys and parties. They must sometimes hand down punishments, and but also determine when to temper punishment with mercy. But above all, a judge must be a servant of their community.
Tell us about a specific event in your legal career of which you are most proud.
In the 2004 case Barnes v. Wells, I represented an adoptive father when his daughter was killed in a car wreck. He’d adopted her when she was a small child and cared for her as a parent should for over 25 years, until her death. Her biological father appeared after her death to challenge the 1979 adoption so he’d get the proceeds of the wrongful death claim. I argued and won the case at the Court of Appeals, ensuring the funds went to the adoptive father who’d actually been a parent.
What is one of the biggest issues facing the judicial branch in NC and what should be done to address it?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Dobbs case, overturning Roe v. Wade, effectively turned women into second-class citizens by forcing them to get legal permission to get health care, or banning that care completely. Further, this ruling creates unnecessary constitutional, economic, medical, and even criminal cases in an area of law settled for 50 years. The voters can amend the N.C. Constitution to restore women’s full rights to health care.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 11:18 AM.
