Endorsements: Our choices for three seats on the N.C. Supreme Court

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, appointed then-Associate Justice Cheri Beasley as chief justice of the seven-member state Supreme Court in February 2019, making her the first Black woman to lead North Carolina’s highest court. It has proven to be a wise and prescient appointment.

Beasley is a fine jurist with deep experience across the judicial system. She has served as an assistant public defender, a district court judge in Cumberland County, as a member of the Court of Appeals and, since 2012, as a member of the state Supreme Court. She has proven a decisive leader of the judicial system.

Beasley’s most impressive call for justice came outside of the courtroom. After the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans brought national protests about systemic racism in law enforcement, Beasley was the first state chief justice to directly address the issue. In a statement, she said, in part, “We must come together to firmly and loudly commit to the declaration that all people are created equal, and we must do more than just speak that truth. We must live it every day in our courtrooms. My pledge to you today is that we will.”

Beasley’s opponent, Senior Associate Justice Paul Newby, would bring to the chief justice’s role his experience on the Supreme Court since 2004 and his 20 years as an assistant U.S. attorney and years as a lawyer in private practice. Notably, he differed from Beasley in upholding the legislature’s heavily gerrymandered redistricting maps and in approving a voucher program that directs state funds to private schools.

We strongly recommend the election of Beasley as chief justice.

Associate Justices

The two other Supreme Court seats up for election present one clear choice and one that is difficult.

Appeals Court Judge Phil Berger Jr., a Republican and the son of the state Senate leader, is seeking to move up to the highest court. So is his fellow Appeals Court judge, Lucy Inman, a Democrat.

Berger is a former prosecutor who can sound like he still is one. Inman is a less ideologically rigid judge who has drawn endorsements from Republicans and Democrats. She is concerned that justices not rule based on politics. “The job of the judge is to separate one’s views from the law,” she told the Editorial Board. Berger did not accept an invitation to meet with the Editorial Board. We recommend Inman.

The race between Associate Justice Mark Davis, a Democrat, and Tamara Barringer, a former Republican state senator from Cary, presents a dilemma caused in part by the recent addition of partisan labels in Supreme Court races.

Davis has considerable experience in private practice, in state government and as a judge on the Court of Appeals. Cooper appointed him in 2019 to Beasely’s associate justice seat after he appointed Beasley as chief justice. Davis is considered a moderate and well regarded for his legal knowledge and judgment. He is also the court’s first ever Jewish member.

Barringer, a professor of legal studies at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, would come to the court with no experience on the bench. That’s not a bad thing; Newby and Associate Justice Anita Earls did the same. As a legislator, Barringer focused on foster care and child welfare and was known for presenting bills that gained bipartisan support. Her background as a lawmaker, business owner and educator brings diversity in perspectives to the court.

Davis is a high quality judge but Barringer could add a valuable dissenting voice to the court. Having both parties present on the court will bolster public confidence in the fairness of its proceedings. We recommend Barringer.

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Endorsements: Our choices for three seats on the N.C. Supreme Court."