For the NC Court of Appeals — Arrowood, Hampson, Kitchen

Politically, the North Carolina Court of Appeals lacks appeal. Most people don’t know what the court does or who serves on it.

But given the General Assembly’s Republican leadership’s desire too politicize everything, including courts that are supposed to be above politics, the state’s second highest court is beginning to get noticed, especially for who serves on it.

This year, thanks to a change made by the General Assembly, Court of Appeals candidates will have party affiliations next to their name on the ballot for the first time since 2002. Republican lawmakers have also approved gradually shrinking the court from 15 to 12 members in an apparent effort to deny Gov. Roy Cooper a chance to appoint judges when they die, resign or reach the mandatory retirement age of 72. Three of the court’s seats are up for election, two of them are open seats and one is occupied by a 2017 appointee whose is seeking to win an eight-year term in his own right.

Seat 1

We recommend electing Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, to a full term. Arrowood, who was appointed by Gov. Cooper in 2017, previously served on the court from 2007 to 2008 after being appointed by Gov. Mike Easley. He has other ties to the court having clerked for Judge Gerald Arnold and served as head of the court’s central staff. Previous to his current appointment, he was a special Superior Court judge.

Arrowood opposes shrinking the court because it will reduce the court’s ability to hear oral arguments, a practice he said the court already doesn’t do enough. He favors the selection of appellate judges through an independent commission, rather than through partisan elections. And he’s blunt about interference by the legislature.

“You shouldn’t have people over on Jones Street threatening the judiciary because they don’t like the decisions they are getting,” he said.

Arrowood’s Republican opponent, Superior Court Judge Andrew Heath, is a former state budget director for Gov. Pat McCrory and spent three years as chairman of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Heath, 37, is a good candidate, but Arrowood has a distinct advantage in experience.

Seat 2

For the open seat to replace Judge Ann Marie Calabria, we recommend Raleigh lawyer Tobias (Toby) Hampson, a Democrat. Hampson has extensive experience before the court after 14 years of specializing in appeals. He also served as a clerk for the court.

He said being a judge on the court “is something I aspired to do from the day I first walked in. The Court of Appeals affects every North Carolinian.”

If elected, Hampson said he will push to expedite the appeals process after seeing how delays have hurt cases he represented. He said his familiarity with court will help move cases along.

Hampson’s Republican opponents are two District Court judges. Jefferson Griffin is a Wake County District Court judge with experience as a Wake County prosecutor. He has the Republican Party endorsement. Also running is Sandra Ray, a District Court judge in New Hanover and Pender counties.

Seat 3

For the open seat to replace Judge Rick Elmore, we recommend Chuck Kitchen, a Republican and former county attorney for Alamance and Durham counties. Kitchen would bring an important perspective to the court at a time when the legislature has been prone to meddling in local governance. As a county attorney, he saw three of his local ordinances invalidated by the legislature. With 38 years experience as a county attorney and in private practice, Kitchen knows the law from the other side of the bench.

The Democratic candidate, Allegra Katherine Collins, would also bring a different perspective and experience to the bench. She is an assistant professor at Campbell Law School who regularly practices before the state’s appellate courts.

Libertarian Michael Monaco is also on the ballot.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 12:04 PM.