Supreme Court Race Could Reset Ideological Balance | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Dan Way, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Incumbent Justice Edmunds cites experience, bipartisan support; challenger Morgan notes his lengthy tenure as trial judge


    In a nonpartisan race that could tip the ideological balance on the state Supreme Court, Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan and sitting Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Bob Edmunds each are touting his respective experience, track record, and judicial temperament as reasons to sit on the state's highest court.

    Four Republicans and three Democrats make up the current Supreme Court.

    "As a trial court judge, I would be able to bring to my colleagues a perspective that would be in the minority. Percentage-wise, the justices that have trial court experience are certainly fewer than those that do," said Morgan, a registered Democrat. He has been a Superior Court judge for more than 11 years, a Wake County District Court judge more than 10 years, and an administrative law judge for five years.

    "I can be a change agent in terms of helping my colleagues on the high court understand, and appreciate, and recognize some of the deficiencies or strengths in the trial court records," Morgan said.

    "As a trial court judge, I have been making trial court records for appellate review, and that's what the Supreme Court does; it looks at the trial court records that have been generated and makes a determination as to whether or not there's been an error committed," Morgan said.

    "Since I know how to make them I certainly know how to review them, and that's why it would translate well having been a trial court judge now going to the appellate bench," said Morgan, whose endorsements include a nod from President Obama.

    Morgan said he has been on the faculty of the National Judicial College for 24 consecutive years, having won an award akin to the national teacher of the year. He instructs judges in in the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges and teaches continuing education courses.

    "So I feel as though the matters that are identified most readily with judges who have experience, who have intellect, analytical ability, professionalism, integrity, I would bring all that to the high court," he said.

    "Candidates will always say nice things about themselves. But in this election, four former chief justices have endorsed me, most of the former presidents of the State Bar and the Bar Association, well over 90 percent of the sheriffs in North Carolina, so it's wide bipartisan support by people who aren't easily fooled and are not driven by politics," said Edmunds, a registered Republican.

    "If they think I'm doing a good enough job that I should stick around, that's not me saying I'm doing a good job, as much as I love it. It's a more objective indication that I'm doing a good job," said Edmunds, who was elected to the state Court of Appeals in 1998 and to the Supreme Court in 2000.

    "I am good at reading and writing clearly explained opinions that help the lawyers and help the judges do their work," said Edmunds, a Navy veteran, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of North Carolina, who formerly practiced law with a Greensboro firm.

    He said his private practice taught him what it's like to go before a judge who's having a bad day and to treat attorneys with dignity and respect. His prosecutorial and defense jobs were valuable, because "you know when the police are blowing smoke. And if you've been a defense attorney like I was for a number of years, you know when your client's lying to you."

    "I respect his length of service, and I respect his incumbency. I just happen to feel as though we have different philosophies in terms of how we would approach cases," Morgan said.

    "I score high in my evaluations in terms of those areas of being fair and impartial, with my integrity, with my professionalism, and that's what I bring," he said, contrasting his 27 years on the bench against Edmunds' 18 - none as a trial court judge.

    "Our views on how we look at things, as I look at how he campaigns, and what his materials say about him, and what mine say about me, there's some contrasts there, and the voters will decide," Morgan said.

    "Where I believe that the most glaring difference between us is the fact that he holds himself out to be a conservative judge first. I hold myself out to be fair and impartial first," Morgan said. "I don't believe politics should play a part in the legal decisions of a judge, and I believe there's a difference there that appears to exist."

    "There are a number of differences between us, the main one being I've been doing the job for 16 years. I have a very well developed record that people can access," Edmunds said. "People know exactly what they are getting. With my opponent, they don't."

    Edmunds noted his advanced master of laws degree and says he shuns political considerations when rendering decisions.

    "From the doctors I would take: Do no harm. Be careful what you write because every word has meaning, and on the Supreme Court every word is written pretty carefully," Edmunds said. "At the deepest level it would be respect for the rule of law. In a nutshell, you get the same facts, you get the same law, you get the same results, no matter who the parties are."

    He said it's important to respect the separation of powers when umpiring between the General Assembly and the executive branch, as well as maintaining a respect for precedent.

    "When we make our decisions we make them based on the facts, and the law," Edmunds said. "I really feel, based on what I've seen, and what I've done, that the court strives not to be political, usually succeeds, and if I were myself a political hack or a predictable vote one way or another, I wouldn't have the kind of bipartisan support I've always enjoyed."
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