North Carolina Superior Court Judge District 06C Seat is up for grabs with four Republicans: Max Ashworth, Susan Keelin, Barry Henline, and Norwood Blanchard. Longtime justice Phyllis Gorham, a Democrat, announced her retirement last year.
The seat is elected by only part of New Hanover County, so not all voters will see the race on their ballot. The winner will face Democratic challenger Ricardo Jensen this fall. Whoever wins in the general election, will preside over both civil and criminal cases across Pender and New Hanover counties.
Max Ashworth, currently a public defender, says restorative justice courts are indispensable.
“I mean, it's been a very emotionally charged process. But yeah, I mean, the victim's family gets a lot out of it. And so does the defendant, he gets to see, you know, what his harm has caused," he said.
Ashworth supports expanding these courts, within limits.
“Absolutely, with the caveat that I think it can't be abused," he said.
Attorney Susan Keelin feels the same.
“Accountability and responsibility and consequences are hugely important. I just sort of come at it from the perspective of, let's treat people with human dignity, let's give people an opportunity to show that they want to do right. And then it becomes their choice," she said.
Barry Henline, who has an extensive law enforcement background, says he supports keeping people out of the justice system — within reason.
“If you can help them to come out of this and come back into society as productive citizens, I think you've done a service to everybody, them, and the citizenry. If you can help them get back into society and function as they're expected to," he said.
Attorney Norwood Blanchard has an extensive background in civil cases, which he believes will set him up for success. But he believes that regardless of the cases before him, impartiality and accountability are at the core of the work:
“You can't ethically allow your personal beliefs about — and I hate to use the word fair, but — what's equitable in that sense, to impact your decision on it. People have a right to a certain outcome in some instances, and you have to apply the law. It's not the law, if the results are different for different people," he said.
Case backlogs have been an issue since the pandemic. Although All Things Judicial, an NC Courts podcast, reported a 25% decrease in pending cases since 2021, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Blanchard believes that frivolous discovery, where attorneys request documentation from the opposing side, is a big issue for which lawyers need to be held accountable.
“Now, the truth of the matter is that some cases, particularly on the civil side, are going to take longer than others, you've got multi-party cases, for example, they don't move fast. But at the same time, you do expect a judge to try to shepherd cases on through as quickly as they can," he said.
Henline agrees backlogs are detrimental, and says the court’s job is to keep cases moving forward.
“There are murder cases taking two to three years to come before the court. And, you know, the people are sitting in jail waiting for their day in court. Families are waiting for their cases, you know, the people that they love that are a victim of this crime, to have their day in court as well," he said.
While the race is partisan, all the candidates believe that personal beliefs and politics should play no role in the actual job of having the judicial seat.
Keelin emphasized that regardless of her Republican title, “This is not a policymaking or lawmaking position. This is not a position where one is trying to actively influence policy. In my opinion, I believe that the judge, you know, takes the vow to — or takes a pledge to follow the laws that exist. Like it or not.”
