Judges running for local seats on the bench in Cape Fear-area races are imploring residents to put some thought into who they want serving on the bench of New Hanover and Pender counties.
Most residents trust their local justices to act fairly and impartially when trying cases, but many times residents may not have enough information on a judicial candidate to make an informed decision and some may outright ignore who those candidates are.
It's important because anyone can come in front of a judge in their lifetime, and that judge will be the sole decision-maker in most matters pertaining to traffic infringements, misdemeanor criminal charges, child-custody cases, divorce hearings, and other civil complaints.
A voter guide published by InjusticeWatch.org, a site dedicated to reporting on the court system in Cook County, Illinois, offers a some points to consider when selecting a judge that applies to most municipalities.
An obvious thing to check on is a candidate's qualifications; and for those running to preserve their judgeship, it helps to know whether they were appointed to the seat by state government officials.
Other considerations may be a candidate's political affiliation, their temperament, their values, and whether they have worked as a public defender or prosecutor.
There are two judicial seats up for a vote this year for Superior and District Courts in District 6, which encompasses New Hanover and Pender counties.
District Court Judge Richard Russell Davis, who currently holds seat 6 in District 6 and is running for re-election, says though decisions made at the district court level do not set precedents to affect laws throughout the state, he hopes people still educate themselves on candidates running in smaller, local races.
“There's a lot of people that take it very seriously and learn every single thing they can about a candidate, but I think when you look at national politics and state politics, say, the state Supreme Court or the court of appeals, the decisions they're making do set precedents to affect laws. At the district court level, we're not making any of those decisions,” Davis said. “When you look at the total population that lives in New Hanover and Pender counties, and the transient population - the college, the tourists - the vast majority of those people never have any contact with the court system, so their knowledge of court practice, or judges in particular, is naturally very limited.”
Davis emphasizes the importance of the public knowing what qualifies someone to run for a judicial seat.
“They need to look at the qualifications of candidates. I don't think anybody before me cares whether I'm a Democrat or Republican or anything. They just want to have a fair shake and be heard. So I think it's just important for people to look to see who they are voting for and why," he said.
When expressing the importance of judicial elections, Superior Court Judge Ricardo Jensen said in order to preserve our rights, we have to understand who’s on the ballot.
“Everybody gives the judges kind of the short shrift. There are forums aplenty for the state candidates. There are interviews everywhere for all the other kinds of candidates. But as judicial candidates, we get pushed off to the side,” Jensen said. “When we're talking about the judges and justices that are on the ballot, we have to understand that there are certain rights that are always going to be in front of the courts when rights are codified or trying to be taken away, [that are] always going to be sued on. So that means it's going to be in front of a judge, and it's going to be in front of a Court of Appeals judge. That means it's going to be in front of a Supreme Court justice.”
Public defender Max Ashworth, who is challenging Jensen in the race for Superior court judge agrees that “a lot of people don't realize who their judges are.”
A poll published by The National Judicial College spotlights some benefits to judicial elections, that over a thousand judges were polled for.
One judge said elections can boost diversity by giving judicial candidates of marginalized communities a better chance at being picked. Another mentioned how elections alleviated the pressure a candidate would feel to curry favor for legislators or governors in exchange for a judicial appointment.
Judicial candidates are subject to campaigning and raising funds, however the lack of voter engagement in judicial elections can be distressing due to ballot roll-off, which refers to the phenomenon of voters casting ballots for higher offices but neglecting candidates running for lower offices.
A study published in The Justice System Journal shows that ballot roll-off is higher when there is a judicial election taking place. The authors of the study, Shauna Reilly and Carol Walker, pointedly expressed what most Americans misunderstand about judicial elections:
“American politics rarely considers judicial politics. Many consider the judiciary to be controlled by law and not politics. Today we have seen the long-lasting impact and the important role the judicial branch can play in policymaking.”
That study was published in 2010, but this concern is more relevant today than it was then.
Reilly and Walker also explained that the reason citizens express less interest in judicial elections is because they require people to dedicate more time to become informed about additional candidates and their policies. But the authors point out that the process of voting allows the public to directly participate in their government, and in this case, citizens can directly contribute to the operation of the lawmaking process.
To learn more about the candidates running in the Superior court race for District 6, visit the candidate profiles for that race, and click here to learn more about statewide judicial candidates. For more voting information click here.
Election day is November 5, early voting and same-day registration started October 17, and closes at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2. Residents planning to vote in-person on election day must present a photo ID. To get more details on voter registration and deadlines for absentee ballots, visit North Carolina’s State Board of Elections site.
*This article was edited to include additional studies and polling done on judicial elections
