Beth Tanner
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Beth Tanner (Republican Party) ran for election for the District 10F Seat 2 judge of the North Carolina 10th Judicial District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Tanner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
In 2020, Tanner participated in a Candidate Conversation hosted by Ballotpedia and EnCiv. Click here to view the recording.
Biography
Beth Tanner was born in Kinston, North Carolina. She received a bachelor's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and a J.D. from Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in 2008. Tanner's professional experience includes being the associate director of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Wake County, North Carolina (2020)
General election
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Tim Gunther advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina District Court District 10F Seat 2.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Beth Tanner advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina District Court District 10F Seat 2.
Endorsements
To view Tanner's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
2020
Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.
Click below to watch the conversation for this race.
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Beth Tanner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tanner's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a mother of two amazing girls and a wife to a fellow attorney. I am also mom to two sweet rescue hounds and a rescue kitty. We live in west Cary in Wake County, North Carolina and have for many years. I love to read and I love to cook (when I'm not busy campaigning). I became a licensed attorney in 2008. I started my legal career in private practice representing healthcare providers and practicing family law. I moved to public service and represented the Department of Public Safety (our state law enforcement and prison system) as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant General Counsel. Now, I am the Associate Director of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, a unique state agency that is charged with neutral investigation of claims of innocence by people who have been convicted.
- It is necessary for judges to be experienced in the law, dedicated to the service of their community, and fair to the people who come before them. That is my proven record and I am asking for your vote.
- I value the law and believe it is necessary to apply the law as written, using the precedents set forth by statutes and case law.
- Being a good judge is not about politics and I have been endorsed across party lines which was important to me because political affiliations will not matter in my courtroom.
I am personally incredibly passionate about our legal system. I believe in the adversarial legal system we have set up and in the constitutional rights granted to various parties to ensure fairness. My work at the Innocence Inquiry Commission has taught me so much about where and how convictions of innocent people happen. What I've learned is that access to justice is not just about what happens in a courtroom - it starts well before in how people are educated about their rights. I'm passionate about community programs that strive to teach citizens about the justice system. I am also passionate about studying how we use our laws to reach results in the justice system and I'm even getting my Masters in Law on the topic of the use of discovery tools between criminal and civil cases.
Honesty is the most important characteristic for an elected official, particularly for a judge.
District Court Judges manage a busy docket filled with complex issues that impact families, children, victims, and defendants. Managing this docket requires dedication and hard work and it also requires an even, but firm, temperament. As the Association Director for the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, I am responsible for my own cases and all the other cases on the Commission's docket. I have a record in public service of managing a large number of complex cases and in managing a staff so that we could deliver justice to the individuals whose cases are before us. I have also been working in a neutral role at the Commission in both investigating and presenting cases, and have demonstrated the ability to be fair.
Being knowledgeable in criminal and civil law and procedure; managing a busy and varied docket; making rulings on motions and also being the final decision-maker in most cases.
I would like to be known as a judge who requires excellence from the lawyers that appear before me, a judge who is knowledgeable in the law and fair in the application of the law to the cases, and a judge who works diligently to make sure cases are handled in a timely manner."
Though this may not have been the first historical event in my lifetime, the event that had the most impact on me were the terrorist attacks on September 11. I was 19 and I can replay that day on my college campus at UNC Chapel Hill like a video. For me, war and politics until that point was on the news and in other places, but on that day it came to our shores for me in a very real way. This paved the way for me to understand that I had responsibility for other people and for my community.
My very first job was at my dad's pharmacy in Kinston, North Carolina. I helped him with restocking the shelves out front with candy or whatever other over the counter products he was selling. I also helped him deliver medicines to people who couldn't leave their homes safely. My dad operated his pharmacy for most of my childhood and we knew all our customers because they were our neighbors. My very first legal job was at a firm, Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog. There I represented healthcare providers such as pharmacists, like my dad, and nurses, like my mom. I also practiced family law, including adoption and representing domestic violence victims. I was at the firm for 6 years and then I went into public service.
Raising a child on the autism spectrum has been both the most beautiful and most difficult challenge I have faced. Before autism entered our lives, my world was very black and white. Supporting our daughter as she learned to talk, take care of herself, and interact with her peers taught me so much about love and understanding. My world suddenly had much more color, and I was suddenly much more understanding of the complexities that can impact people and their families. I'm so proud of the hard work our girl put in and I'm so proud of where she is now. Her journey has, and will continue, to teach me more about the world.
I believe in applying the law and constitution as written, using the precedents set forth by higher courts.
When I was a law student, I was selected for an externship with former Court of Appeals Judge Linda Stephens. Judge Stephens taught me the importance of carefully considering all the facts in a case and of applying the law as it was written, regardless of our personal opinions or beliefs. In addition, Judge Stephens was incredibly supportive of women in the legal profession and of all of the people that came through her chambers. She is the example of an ideal mentor who lifts others up, and thereby lifts up the legal profession and justice system as a whole. I hope to have that same impact. Judge Stephens, a life-long Democrat, has endorsed me and I'm very proud that I've been endorsed across party lines by someone I admire.
Yes. I believe the judge is required to implement the law to the facts as the law is written while also being aware of how that might impact all the parties coming to the court for answers. One of the reasons I am running is because our youngest daughter is on the autism spectrum. Families and children come to District Court for answers - really understanding the challenges that parents of children with needs face is necessary to implementing justice for those children and families.
I am running for District Court because District Court is where children and families come to the court for answers. It is where juveniles go when they get in trouble, it is where family law cases are handled, and it is where domestic violence is addressed. It is also where misdemeanor crimes are adjudicated. Thus, District Court is an opportunity to alter the course of a defendant or a family and get them moving in the right direction. It is where I believe I can make the best difference.
Absolutely. Government does not operate the same as private industry. Experience in managing government employees, experience in understanding that you are responsible to the people, experience in government funding, and experience in working with other government agencies all provide an excellent and necessary base for a judge to manage her courtroom.
I believe the adversarial system is the best legal system, but we pay many prosecutors and most public defenders even less than we pay teachers. Assistant District Attorneys and Public Defenders are responsible for ensuring victims and defendants are protected and served in our criminal justice system. The hours are long and the pay is low - I believe that to improve the system overall, increasing the pay for those positions could help.
North Carolina's Innocence Inquiry Commission is the only state agency in the United States like it. While other states have non-profit innocence organizations or conviction integrity units within prosecutors' offices, our state has an independent state agency whose entire job is a neutral evaluation of claims of innocence after conviction has occurred. The Commission is given certain tools and authority that are unique from any other criminal justice agency. This really makes North Carolina a leader in criminal justice and because the Commission has been in successful operation for well over a decade, there have been some really important learning lessons from cases about how we can improve delivery of justice.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 12, 2020
