Judicial candidate research was completed with help from the Wake Forest University School of Law Pro Bono Project.
North Carolina Court of Appeals judges are statewide roles, meaning voters across all 100 counties in North Carolina vote in these races. The court, which is made up of 15 judges who hear cases in three-person panels, is the state’s intermediate appellate court and hears appeals from lower courts in both civil and criminal cases.
Requirements and duties:
- Judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals serve eight-year terms.
- They must be licensed attorneys and are responsible for reviewing lower court decisions, interpreting state law, and issuing written opinions.
- The Court of Appeals plays a major role in shaping legal precedent in North Carolina and often hears cases involving constitutional rights, criminal justice and civil disputes.
Incumbent Democrat Toby Hampson faces Republican George Cooper Bell. Hampson is seeking reelection for his second term. Bell serves as a Superior Court Judge in Mecklenburg County. Judicial races in North Carolina identify candidates’ parties on the ballot, though judges are expected to be nonpartisan in decision-making. Republicans hold 12 of the 15 seats on the N.C. Court of Appeals.
George Cooper Bell
Party:
Republican
Incumbent:
No
Age:
Approximately 48
Previous experience in elected office:
North Carolina Superior Court Judge, District 26C (2019-present)
Occupation:
Superior Court Judge
Description:
Bell’s campaign focuses on judicial restraint, public safety and constitutional interpretation. He argues that judges should apply the law as written and avoid judicial activism. Bell has emphasized his experience presiding over criminal and civil cases in Mecklenburg County and says that fairness, consistency and accountability are central to his judicial philosophy. He has highlighted his support from conservative legal and law enforcement groups and has argued that his trial court experience prepares him well for the Court of Appeals. In 2019, Bell was reprimanded by the North Carolina State Bar after making a false statement to the court regarding a client’s compliance with probation. Bell failed to consult with the client’s probation officer before seeking a modification of probation and incorrectly represented that the client was in good standing. Bell was also recently criticized for releasing a man who threatened to kill children at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, though the incident occurred in 2025 and the man had been held in jail without a trial for over a year.
Other personal:
Bell lives in Cornelius with his wife and three children and has served as a judge in Mecklenburg County since 2019. Before joining the bench, he spent years practicing both civil and criminal law in North Carolina. Bell earned a bachelor's from Cornell University and a JD from Regent University School of Law. While at Cornell, he was a member of the wrestling team and served as president of a fraternity.
Review of Candidate Rulings (Source: Wake Forest University School of Law Pro Bono Project)
Bell has served as a Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge since 2018, where he presides over a wide range of matters, including serious criminal cases and civil disputes. In a publicly available appeal reviewing one of his decisions, the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed his ruling in a foreclosure case, agreeing that the action was filed after the applicable statute of limitations had expired. Beyond that decision, publicly available information provides limited insight into his broader approach to deciding cases. A review of appellate decisions identified one instance where an order by Bell was reversed on appeal (more detail above).
Tobias (Toby) Hampson
Party: Democrat
Incumbent: Yes
Age: 50
Previous experience in elected office:
North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (2019-present)
Occupation:
N.C. Court of Appeals Judge
Description:
Hampson’s campaign focuses on judicial independence, equal access to justice and protecting constitutional rights. He has emphasized that judges should remain impartial and interpret the law fairly rather than legislate from the bench. Hampson has pointed to his appellate experience and his legal background in complex civil litigation as evidence of his qualifications. He has also spoken about maintaining public trust in the courts and ensuring fairness for all North Carolinians. He is endorsed by Democratic legal organizations and voting rights groups. In the 2018 election for the same seat, Hampson defeated Jefferson Griffin, the candidate who controversially tried to get thousands of ballots thrown out in the 2024 state Supreme Court race.
Other personal:
Hampson lives in Raleigh and has spent most of his life in North Carolina. Before joining the Court of Appeals, he spent years practicing appellate and civil litigation law and was active in bar associations and legal education programs. His wife is also an attorney and they have three daughters. He attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and earned a B.A. from American University and a JD from Campbell University.
Review of Candidate Rulings (Source: Wake Forest University School of Law Pro Bono Project)
Hampson’s judicial record reflects a philosophy rooted in precision, procedural fairness, and holding both parties to a case to strict evidentiary standards. Regardless of the subject matter of the case, Judge Hampson consistently expects litigants to follow the proper procedure, satisfy the statutory elements, and meet their burden of proof. His philosophy is best characterized as textualist and procedurally rigorous. He does not have any criminal convictions in North Carolina and has never been disciplined by the State Bar. A review of appellate decisions did not find any case in which the NC Supreme Court reversed a decision authored by Hampson.
