What debate? Judge candidates show wide agreement on issues facing courts

What if they held a debate and nobody debated?

For two hours Friday, the candidates for three Mecklenburg County District Court seats as well as two men vying to join the North Carolina Court of Appeals expressed largely similar views on such legal issues as implicit bias, the rising number of residents who can’t afford a lawyer, raising the legal age of juveniles to 18, and the impact of budget cuts on the search for justice.

In the appeals court debate, both incumbent Bob Hunter and challenger Abe Hunter called for the return of public financing for appeals court races to restore judicial independence and shore up public faith in an impartial court system.

There was little disagreement expressed during the four 15-minute sessions, other than who is best qualified for the bench. The judicial forums are a first for the sponsoring Mecklenburg County League of Women Voters, whose debates had not included court races in the past. WTVI – PBS Charlotte will televise the exchanges beginning at noon Sunday.

The district court candidates participating included:

▪ Attorney George Bell vs. incumbent Christy Mann.

In a tribute to the limited interest court races normally draw, Bell introduced himself to the cameras before every answer. Before the March primary, he accused Mann and other judges of “interpreting the law to fit their beliefs,” and promised to be a “conservative judge who upheld the law and Constitution.” Somewhat surprisingly, the registered Republican was the only candidate of the group to allude to the protests following the September police shooting in Charlotte. He said those residents were demonstrating “for a reason,” and anyone “looking for a change” should vote for him.

Mann, who has served on the District Court bench for 11 years and is now the county’s senior Family Court judge, says she has handled thousands of cases for families in crisis as both a judge and a lawyer. She has received the endorsement of most of her colleagues on the bench and has been rated highest by the lawyers who practice in her court for her legal acumen.

“I’m smart and I’m hard-working,” she said. “I’m in Courtroom 8150. Come up and watch me.”

Mann strongly led the three-candidate field in the March primary.

▪  Incumbent David Strickland vs. Ben Thalheimer.

Strickland, a former public defender and private practitioner, was elected to the bench in 2012 and is seeking a second term. He has been the lead juvenile judge for two years and strongly supports the state changing the legal age of juveniles to 18. North Carolina is the last state in the union to consider 16-year-olds legal adults.

While Strickland supports the change, he said it would require the financial support of the legislature for additional judges, support personnel and programs to make it work.

Thalheimer, himself a former District Court judge, said his passion is helping children and families in crisis. If elected, he said he would start court early and work through lunch – as Strickland said he also does – to handle as many cases as possible. He believes implicit bias, which experts say affects everything from arrests to charges and sentencing, remains a critical obstacles to court fairness.

“It’s important for people to understand that it does exist,” he said.

▪ Aretha Blake vs. Tracy Hewett.

Blake, a private practitioner, narrowly beat veteran public defender Hewett in the March primary to replace the retiring Charlotte Brown-Williams.

Blake, a former Charlotte School of Law dean and now president of the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation, cited her 14 years of experience that has included corporate law, business litigation and family court. She says she has advised the local bar on diversity issues, worked for juvenile rights, and is a longtime volunteer at the YMCA.

She called for more support for programs and training to help indigent litigants and said judges “must be leaders in the courtroom and leaders in the community.”

Hewett, now a supervising attorney at the public defender’s office, has also served as a guardian ad litem and spent 21 years in the advertising department at The Charlotte Observer. She said economically strapped families entering Family Court face a built-in disadvantage because there are no court-appointed attorneys. She joined Blake in describing implicit bias as an immediate and urgent problem, which she augmented with a story on how as a 19-year-old, a police officer stopped her for speeding but let her go.

She recalled her mother’s reply: “I wonder if that would have happened if you were black.”

Court of Appeals

▪ Abe Jones vs. incumbent Bob Hunter

Multiple seats are open on the state’s second highest court, but only Jones and Morgan took part in the League of Women Voters’ event.

Jones, a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, served as a Wake County Superior Court judge for 17 years. He said the General Assembly’s 2013 decision to end public financing of appeals court races, which forces judicial candidates to raise their own campaign money, has been “very detrimental” to the courts and should be rescinded.

In an earlier appearance in Charlotte, he pointed out that while 80 percent of the defendants in the North Carolina courts are African-American males, not one of the 15 appeals court seats is held by a black man. On Wednesday, he said his wide range of legal experiences has more than prepared him to fill a seat.

Hunter, who has also served on the state Supreme Court, said judges can raise money “without compromising our ethics,” but also called on public financing to be restored. He said he writes on average about 120 appeals court opinions a year that address many of the key issues facing the state and its residents. And he was the only candidate to address the court’s “watchdog” role on the other branches of government, a role he seemed to relish.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but sometimes the legislature messes up and needs judicial supervision,” he said wryly. “I’m the right person for that job.”

More debates Thursday

The Charlotte School of Law, 201 S. College St., Charlotte, will host a three-hour judicial forum Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. Candidates for the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and Mecklenburg County District Court will participate.

Taylor Batten, editor of the Observer’s editorial page, will moderate.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 7:18 PM with the headline "What debate? Judge candidates show wide agreement on issues facing courts."