Carolyn J. Thompson
Carolyn J. Thompson (Democratic Party) (formerly Carolyn J. Yancey) was a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She assumed office on September 12, 2023. She left office on January 1, 2025.
Thompson (Democratic Party) (formerly Carolyn J. Yancey) ran for re-election for the Seat 12 judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Carolyn J. Thompson received her B.A. in sociology from Hampton University and her J.D. from the North Carolina Central University School of Law. She was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1996.[1][2] Thompson was a district court judge for the North Carolina 9th Judicial District, serving Franklin, Granville, Vance, and Warren counties, from 2009 to 2018. She was elected in November 2008 and was sworn in on January 2, 2009. She was re-elected in November 2016.[3][4] Thompson worked as an attorney and solo practitioner for 13 years prior to her judicial election in 2008.[4][2]
Elections
2024
See also: North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12
Thomas Murry defeated incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Thomas Murry (R)  | 50.9 | 2,809,458 |
 | Carolyn J. Thompson (D) | 49.1 | 2,710,863 | |
| Total votes: 5,520,321 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Thomas Murry advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thompson in this election.
2022
See also: North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
General election
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 8
Julee Flood defeated Carolyn J. Thompson in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 8 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Julee Flood (R) | 52.4 | 1,956,550 |
| Carolyn J. Thompson (D) | 47.6 | 1,775,943 | |
| Total votes: 3,732,493 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Carolyn J. Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 8.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Julee Flood advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 8.
Endorsements
To view Thompson's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2018
See also: Municipal elections in Durham County, North Carolina (2018)
General election
General election for North Carolina 1st Superior Court Division Judicial District 9
Cynthia Sturges defeated incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson and Mitchell Styers in the general election for North Carolina 1st Superior Court Division Judicial District 9 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cynthia Sturges (R) | 46.7 | 38,113 | |
| Carolyn J. Thompson (D) | 43.8 | 35,734 | |
| Mitchell Styers (D) | 9.5 | 7,726 | ||
| Total votes: 81,573 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
2016
North Carolina held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 15, 2016.[5] Incumbent Carolyn J. Yancey ran unopposed in the North Carolina Judicial District 9 general election for the Yancey seat.[6]
| North Carolina Judicial District 9 (Yancey Seat), General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Carolyn J. Yancey Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 49,123 |
| Total Votes | 49,123 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial election results," accessed November 8, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The North Carolina District Courts utilize partisan elections in the selection of judges. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving. From 2002 through 2016, elections for district court judges were nonpartisan; however, on March 23, 2017, the North Carolina legislature changed the method of election to partisan elections by overriding Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of HB 100. This change was effective with the 2018 district court elections.[7][8][9]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[7]
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- a district resident; and
- under the age of 72 (retirement at 72 is mandatory).
2012
- See also: North Carolina judicial elections, 2012
Yancey was re-elected to the 9th Judicial District without opposition on November 6, 2012.[10][11]
Judicial candidate survey
The North Carolina Bar Association asked its members to rank incumbent judges with terms ending in 2012 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being "excellent." Below are Yancey's ratings in five categories and overall:
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Carolyn J. Thompson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Carolyn J. Thompson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thompson'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 believe I can make a difference in the service of equal justice as required by our laws and constitution. True justice is independent of party affiliation, divisive ideologies, and social differences. I have taken and believe in the oath to uphold our laws and constitution consistently. As the next Court of Appeals judge for all North Carolinians, I am committed to serving with integrity, fairness, and impartiality.
- For over ten years, I prosecuted petitions of abuse, neglect, and nonsupport of children. My practice has always included representing victims of domestic violence and their children. In my role as a District Court judge, I successfully advocated changing our court dockets so that domestic violence cases could be heard separate from the general civil court. This change gave families more time to resolve their issues without unnecessary delays.
- I am fortunate to be the daughter of parents who taught me the importance of earning my way in this world through hard work and educational accomplishments. My family's legacy of tenacity in the face of obstacles has been the foundation of my faith and belief that all things are possible. I stand on the shoulders of generations who paved the way for my academic career at Hampton University, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and my Juris Doctor Degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Their servant leadership testament instilled in me at an early age that "to whom much is given, much is required." I honor their sacrifices with a dedication to serve others and earn leaders.
- I am a member of numerous community-focused organizations, including but not limited to: Families Living Violence Free, Inc., Call to Peace Ministries, Inc., Rotary Club of Oxford, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In 2016, I authored and published Abigails Veil, educating the faith-based community about domestic violence.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Martindale, "Judge Profile: Carolyn J. Yancey," accessed October 29, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The North Carolina Court System, "Franklin County - District 9, District Court Judges," accessed July 2, 2013
- ↑ North Carolina Central University School of Law - Of Counsel Magazine, "Alumni," Spring 2010 Scroll to p.45]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Go Dan River, "Danville native to be sworn in as new North Carolina district court judge," November 23, 2008 (dead link)
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Election Calendar," accessed December 23, 2015
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 23, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Veto override means voters will know judges’ party affiliations," March 23, 2017
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 100," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed December 17, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing List," 2012 Scroll to p.50
- ↑ NC Bar Association: Judicial Performance Evaluation Survey, January 2012 Scroll to p.9
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