The results of North Carolina’s Court of Appeals election could determine whether Democrats have any voice at all on the state’s second-highest court.
The Court of Appeals judges rule on legal and procedural errors in cases from district, superior and administrative courts and is the last step before most cases can go to the state Supreme Court. The court hears cases in a rotating panel of judges who serve eight-year terms with seats up for reelection in even-numbered years.
The court is made up of 15 judges, only three of whom are Democrats. All three Democratic seats are up for election this year. If Republicans win all those seats, the state could have an all-Republican court. Democrats wouldn’t have a chance to pick up another seat until 2028.
The state Supreme Court also has a 5-2 Republican majority, which could increase to 6-1 after the midterm election.
Here are the six candidates for Court of Appeals who will appear on the ballot this November.
Seat 1: Michael C. Byrne and John S. Arrowood
Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, is fighting to keep his seat on the Court of Appeals. He has held a seat on the Court of Appeals since 2017. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper and successfully ran for reelection in 2018, becoming the first openly LGBT judge elected to the Court. Arrowood previously served as a Special Superior Court judge.
“It is absolutely critical, my friends, for us to have an independent judiciary, who’s committed to equal justice under the law,” Arrowood said during a North Carolina Democrats virtual rally last November. “People who are committed to their oath to render justice fairly, and without favor to the state or to any individual and to not come with an agenda.”
Judge Michael Byrne, a Republican, has spent six years as an administrative law judge, according to his campaign site. His campaign site touts his record of accuracy on the court as a reason why he’s a trustworthy appeals court judge.
“As administrative law judge, in six years I’ve issued over 400 decisions…Ten of those decisions were reviewed by the court of appeals. All 10 were unanimously affirmed,” Byrne said on PBS NC’s State Lines. “So, I’ve never been reversed for legal error.”
As an attorney, his practice represented law enforcement and public employees who were fired or disciplined. He’s received endorsements by statewide and nationwide law enforcement organizations.
Seat 2: George Cooper Bell and Tobias (Toby) Hampson
Judge Toby Hampson, a Democrat, is defending his seat. Hampson said that he “grew up as a lawyer” in the Court of Appeals by serving as a law clerk for the court. He’s served as an Appeals judge since 2018.
“The law, when properly interpreted and properly applied, should absolutely make sense in real life,” Hampson said in a video posted by the North Carolina Democratic Party.
Hampson’s Republican challenger is Judge George Cooper Bell, a Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge. Bell, who calls himself a “common sense” candidate, also spent about 14 years as a criminal defense attorney. In a campaign ad, Bell said that he’s conscious of the “trauma” that children experience in family law cases.
In a response to The News & Observer’s candidate questionnaire, Bell said that part of his judicial philosophy is to “put victims of crime first, and hold violent, repeat offenders accountable because justice requires it.”
Seat 3: Craig Collins and Christine Marie Walczyk
Judge Craig Collins, a Republican, is a Superior Court judge in Gaston County and former District Court judge. He also served as an Assistant District Attorney from 1997 to 2006. Collins describes himself as a conservative judge who will not allow political agendas to influence the law that’s already established.
Collins said at the NC Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Salt and Light Conference last month that the court needs judges who won’t use the courts to “amend the law … through court order.”
“We are under attack from every direction. Obviously, we’re under attack spiritually. We’ere under attack from those who wish to do crime, violence in our streets against our families and our neighbors,” Collins said at the conference. “But make no mistake, we’re under attack from those who wish to do harm to us right inside of our own court rooms.”
Judge Christine Walczyk, a Democrat, is a District Court judge who has worked as a trial judge for more than 19 years in Wake County. As an attorney, she practiced law with Grafstein & Walczyk, P.L.L.C, with her law partner now-Sen. Lisa Grafstein, a Wake County Democrat.
Walczyk says that her judicial philosophy is to ensure that the law is applied equally, regardless of characteristics like race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.
“I can’t subscribe to the originalist idea where we’re tied to the framers (who) wrote a document in the 1700s when African Americans and women had no rights,” Walczyk said on PBS NC’s State Lines. “I think that judges are required to apply the law to real world situations.”