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The Vote’s in Your Court

It’s important that we elect the right appellate judges in the 2020 elections on Nov. 3.

North Carolina judicial elections matter because they define a group of people whose decisions will significantly impact the state’s citizens and businesses.

Our state’s appellate judges:

  • Determine what broadly-written state laws actually mean in specific situations, whether or not they are constitutional, and to whom they apply
  • Protect North Carolinians from overreach by the other branches of government, providing a check on power that is the hallmark of a healthy democracy
  • Leave a long-lasting effect on our society because their decisions serve as precedent in future legal cases for generations to come

On Nov. 3, vote for:

Cheri Beasley

NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Cheri Beasley

NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 (DEM)

Education

  • Rutgers University
  • University of Tennessee (JD)
  • Duke University (LLM)

Occupation

  • Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court

Experience

  • Court of Appeals Judge (2008-2012)
  • Supreme Court Justice (2012-2020)

Justice Beasley has served on the North Carolina Supreme Court since 2012 and has served as the Chief Justice for over a year. As the Chief Justice, she is responsible for the North Carolina Judicial Branch, an equal branch of state government with the Legislative and Executive branches. Prior to her service on the Supreme Court, Justice Beasley served four years as an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and was a District Court Judge for a decade in the 12th Judicial District in Cumberland County.

Lucy Inman

NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 02 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Lucy Inman

NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 02 (DEM)

Education

  • North Carolina State University
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)

Occupation

  • Judge on the NC Court of Appeals

Experience

  • Superior Court Judge (2010-2014)
  • Court of Appeals Judge (2015-2022)

Judge Inman has served on the Court of Appeals since her election in 2014. She previously served for four years as a Superior Court judge. Judge Inman started her legal career as a law clerk for North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Jim Exum and then practiced civil litigation for 18 years, representing clients from all walks of life. Before entering the legal profession, Judge Inman worked as a newspaper reporter.

Mark Davis

NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 04 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Mark Davis

NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 04 (DEM)

Education

  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)
  • Duke University (LLM)

Occupation

  • Justice on the NC Supreme Court

Experience

  • Court of Appeals Judge (2013-2019)
  • Supreme Court Justice (2019-2020)

Justice Davis was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Cooper in March of 2019. Prior to his appointment, Justice Davis was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2012 and was elected to a full eight-year term in 2014. Previously, Justice Davis served as a Special Deputy Attorney General in the North Carolina Department of Justice for five years and spent 13 years as an attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, where he was a member of the firm in the Litigation Section.

Tricia Shields

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 04 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Tricia Shields

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 04 (DEM)

Education

  • Wake Forest University
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)

Occupation

  • Attorney

Experience

  • Private practice experience for 35 years

Tricia Shields is a highly experienced trial attorney whose practice focuses on civil litigation. She represents people and their businesses in a wide variety of cases, including complex commercial litigation, malpractice and professional responsibility, product liability claims, and civil rights claims. She has extensive appellate practice experience, appearing regularly before North Carolina’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lora Christine Cubbage

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 05 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Lora Christine Cubbage

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 05 (DEM)

Education

  • North Carolina A&T State University
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)

Occupation

  • Superior Court Judge

Experience

  • Superior Court Judge (2018-2026)
  • District Court Judge; prior Assistant Attorney General

Judge Cubbage began her career as an Assistant District Attorney, prosecuting cases for the State of North Carolina. She next served as an Assistant Attorney General. Judge Cubbage was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Roy Cooper in March of 2018, subsequently being elected to the seat in November of 2018. While on the bench, Judge Cubbage has had the opportunity to preside over cases from murder to felony larceny, including civil cases from breach of contract to the more complex estate case.

Chris Dillon

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 06 (REP)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Chris Dillon

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 06 (REP)

Education

  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)
  • Duke University (LLM)

Occupation

  • Judge on the NC Court of Appeals

Experience

  • Private practice
  • Court of Appeal Judge (2012-2020)

Judge Dillon has served as an appellate court judge since his election in 2012. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Dillon served in private practice focusing on administrative, business, and real estate law.

Jeff Carpenter

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 07 (REP)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Jeff Carpenter

NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 07 (REP)

Education

  • University of North Carolina-Charlotte
  • Campbell University (JD)

Occupation

  • Superior Court Judge

Experience

  • Superior Court Judge (2016-2020)
  • State Highway Patrol (1994-2000)

Judge Carpenter attended law school as a second career after years of service with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. After law school, and prior to taking the bench in Anson, Richmond, Stanly, and Union Counties, Judge Carpenter was a trial lawyer. He tried a variety of civil and criminal cases.

NCAJ has endorsed both candidates for NC Court of Appeals Seat 13. You may vote for one of these individuals in the 2020 election.

Chris Brook

DUAL ENDORSEMENT
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 13 (DEM)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Chris Brook

DUAL ENDORSEMENT
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 13 (DEM)

Education

  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (JD)

Occupation

  • Judge on the NC Court of Appeals

Experience

  • Legal Director of ACLU (2012-2019)
  • Court of Appeals Judge (2019-2020)

Judge Brook first practiced at a Raleigh law firm, focusing on civil litigation. He was then a public interest attorney in North Carolina for more than a decade. In these roles, he practiced throughout our state and federal court system, including successfully leading litigation before the Supreme Court of the United States. Since his 2019 appointment to the Court of Appeals by Governor Cooper, he has authored more than 75 opinions that speak to his rigor, fairness, and respect for every North Carolinian who appears before him.

Jefferson G. Griffin

DUAL ENDORSEMENT
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 13 (REP)

Endorsed by North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Jefferson G. Griffin

DUAL ENDORSEMENT
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 13 (REP)

Education

  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • North Carolina Central University (JD)

Occupation

  • District Court Judge (currently deployed until summer of 2020)

Experience

  • District Court Judge (2015-2020)
  • JAG officer in the National Guard

Judge Griffin started in private practice in Kinston, N.C., focusing on civil litigation and criminal defense litigation.  In 2015, he was appointed as a District Court Judge in Wake County by Gov. McCrory.  Judge Griffin was elected to a four-year term in the 2016 general election in Wake County. He spent the last half of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 serving as a Captain in the North Carolina Army National Guard as a JAG Officer and deployed with the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, known as “Old Hickory.”

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Vote for these judicial candidates on Nov. 3


Take Action

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Discover Your Influence

Help educate the voters you know on why judicial elections matter and which judges NCAJ has endorsed.

We invite you to share this website showcasing NCAJ’s bipartisan slate of appellate judicial candidates via social media, e-mail or text message with your friends, family, neighbors, clients or customers, as well as members of the faith or civic groups to which you belong.

We all know there is much at stake in elections, but many people focus only on candidates for legislative or executive office. And yet, our appellate judges decide on a wide array of matters that affect North Carolinians every day.

Help educate those within your own sphere of influence as to the importance of a fair and impartial judiciary.

You can share NCAJ’s endorsements with confidence, knowing that these candidates were carefully chosen by the very lawyers who will represent North Carolina residents and businesses before the Courts on which the judges elected on Nov. 3 will sit for years to come.

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Who We Are

The North Carolina Advocates for Justice is a nonpartisan association of legal professionals dedicated to protecting people’s rights. NCAJ provides continuing legal education aimed at enhancing the quality of the legal profession, works to improve access to the legal system, and advocates at the state legislature in the areas of criminal and civil justice.

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