Elections for Judge Should Not Be Partisan

Charles E. Rice, III was the Chief District Court Judge of New Hanover and Pender Counties.  He served thirteen years on the bench and imparted a great deal of wisdom to us at Rice Law before he died.

One of the things he was adamant about was that a judge should not hold memberships in organizations that could cause one to believe they may harbor some bias.  Rice proudly explained when he was first elected to the bench he resigned his membership in the Cape Fear Men’s Club and other civic organizations less he be perceived to hold some prejudice.  In fact, he lamented modern judges who publicized their membership in such organizations.

When Rice served as a Judge, elections for district court judges were partisan although he was not in favor of this.  District court elections in North Carolina became non-partisan in 2001.  In 2017 the state legislature returned district and superior court to partisan elections.

When this decision was made, Representative Burr announced he wanted an “R” or “D” beside the candidates name on ballots to “provide the voters with at least a general idea of each judicial candidates judicial philosophy.” (See https://www.wfae.org/politics/2017-02-21/bill-to-make-judicial-elections-partisan-advances-in-nc-house).  One criticism at the time was that by giving the public partisan information it could cause the judges to become judicial activists.

Recently I have been asked by clients whether a judge is a Democrat or a Republican and whether I think that means they are more likely to judge their case in a positive or negative manner.  And that question causes me to think back to Judge Rice’s admonition against all of this labeling.

I find that most clients want the court to decide their case on a fair and impartial basis.  They want to believe in what the framers of our Constitution promoted that judges follow the law and are not biased, partisan, or intimidated.  So the whole notion of labeling seems to go against this.

As you consider who may best serve North Carolina when you vote in judicial elections this fall consider Judge Rice’s admonition against labels.  Perhaps those who wear their labels on their sleeves are not individuals who should be judges.