North Carolina Court of Appeals
The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. The court has 15 judges who rotate, hearing cases in panels of three. Judges serve eight-year terms and are elected in statewide partisan elections.[1]
If one judge on a three-judge panel dissents, the case may be appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court. The supreme court may accept other cases for review at its discretion.
The court of appeals decides questions of law, not fact, in reviewing cases from the trial courts. The court hears all civil and criminal appeals from the superior and district courts, except for cases in which the death penalty is imposed. Death penalty sentences are appealed directly to the supreme court.[1][2]
- Published opinions of the North Carolina Court of Appeals can be found here.
| North Carolina Court of Appeals | |||
 | |||
| Court information | |||
| Judges: | 15 | ||
| Salary: | [3] | ||
| Judicial selection | |||
| Method: | Partisan election of judges | ||
| Term: | 8 years | ||
Judges
| Judge | Tenure | Appointed By |
|---|---|---|
|
January 2, 2007 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
2016 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2015 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
September 6, 2014 - Present |
Pat McCrory |
|
|
2017 - Present |
Roy Cooper |
|
|
January 1, 2021 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2021 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
2015 - Present |
Pat McCrory |
|
|
January 1, 2019 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2019 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2015 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2013 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2021 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 1, 2021 - Present |
Elected |
|
|
January 14, 2021 - Present |
Roy Cooper |
Former judges
Click here for a list of former judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Judicial selection
Judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals are selected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[4] These elections were nonpartisan from 2004 until a law passed in 2016 made them partisan again, beginning in 2018.
For details about North Carolina's judicial elections, visit the North Carolina judicial elections page.
Qualifications
Judicial candidates in North Carolina must be:
- at least 21 years old
- licensed attorneys
- registered to vote
- residents of the state
- under the age of 72[4][5]
Salary
The annual salary for judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals is $134,440, effective for the 2013 to 2015 legislative session.[6]
Elections
2022
The terms of four North Carolina intermediate appellate court judges will expire on December 31, 2022. The four seats are up for partisan election on November 8, 2022.
Judges with expiring terms
- This is a list of the judges who must stand for partisan election in 2022 in order to remain on the bench. Judges may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.
■ Donna Stroud
■ John Marsh Tyson
■ Lucy N. Inman
■ Darren Jackson
2020
The terms of five North Carolina Court of Appeals justices expired on December 31, 2020. The five seats were up for partisan election on November 3, 2020. A full term on the court is eight years.
Judges with expiring terms
- This is a list of the justices who had to stand for partisan election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.
■ Christopher Brook
■ Wanda Bryant[7]
■ Chris Dillon 
■ Linda McGee[7]
■ Reuben Young
2018
The terms of three North Carolina Court of Appeals judges expired on December 31, 2018. All three stood for partisan election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench. A full term on the court is eight years.
2016
November general election candidates
Five seats were up for election. Though North Carolina judicial elections were nonpartisan at the time of the November 2016 election, court of appeals candidates declared their party affiliations upon filing, and their party affiliations appeared on the ballot as of 2015.[8] Parties did not nominate the candidates, and if a primary was held because more than two candidates filed, that primary was not to narrow the candidates to one candidate from each party. Instead, the top two finishers, regardless of party, advanced to the general election. In 2016, no primary was held for the court of appeals elections, since not more than two candidates each filed to run for the seats held by Dietz, Hunter, Stephens, and Zachary. The Geer seat was not vacant for election until after the regular March primary.
Dietz seat■ Richard Dietz (R) Hunter seat■ Robert N. Hunter Jr. (R) Stephens seat■ Linda Stephens (D) (Incumbent) |
Zachary seat■ Valerie J. Zachary (R) Geer seatJudge Martha Geer stepped down from her seat in May. ■ Hunter Murphy (R) |
Election results
November 8 general election
| North Carolina Court of Appeals, Dietz seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Richard Dietz Incumbent |
53.47% | 2,353,604 |
| Vince M. Rozier, Jr. | 46.53% | 2,048,367 |
| Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%) | 4,401,971 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
| North Carolina Court of Appeals, Hunter seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Robert N. Hunter, Jr. Incumbent |
54.37% | 2,403,059 |
| Abraham P. Jones | 45.63% | 2,016,552 |
| Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%) | 4,419,611 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
| North Carolina Court of Appeals, Stephens seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Phil Berger Jr. |
50.25% | 2,233,730 |
| Linda Stephens Incumbent | 49.75% | 2,211,631 |
| Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%) | 4,445,361 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
| North Carolina Court of Appeals, Zachary seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Valerie Johnson Zachary Incumbent |
53.81% | 2,361,232 |
| Rickye McKoy-Mitchell | 46.19% | 2,027,078 |
| Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%) | 4,388,310 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
| North Carolina Court of Appeals, Geer seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Hunter Murphy |
48.70% | 2,159,193 |
| Margaret P. Eagles | 45.60% | 2,021,769 |
| Donald R. Buie | 5.70% | 252,756 |
| Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%) | 4,433,718 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
2014
Davis Seat
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul A. Holcombe | No | 41.2%  | |
Mark A. Davis | Yes | 58.8% |
Hunter Seat
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| William F. Southern, III | No | 48.1% | |
| Lucy N. Inman | No | 51.9% |
| Unopposed | Judge Donna Stroud (Stroud Seat) |
|---|
Martin seat, special election
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Brad Donovan | No | 1.3% | |
| Jody Newsome | No | 1.7% | |
| John S. Arrowood | No | 14.4% | |
| Lori G. Christian | No | 3.8% | |
| Valerie Johnson Zachary | No | 4% | |
| Hunter Murphy | No | 4.4% | |
| Marion R. Warren | No | 6.1% | |
| Abraham P. Jones | No | 2.6% | |
| Sabra Jean Faires | No | 1.4% | |
| John Marsh Tyson | No | 23.8% | |
| Betsy Bunting | No | 1.6% | |
| Jeffrey M. Cook | No | 2.1% | |
| Daniel Patrick Donahue | No | 2.8% | |
| Ann Kirby | No | 4.1% | |
| Keischa Lovelace | No | 9.7% | |
| Marty Martin (North Carolina) | No | 5.1% | |
| Tricia Shields | No | 3.4% | |
| Elizabeth Davenport Scott | No | 5.6% | |
| Chuck Winfree | No | 2.3% |
2012
| Candidate | Incumbency | Office | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Dillon | No | 52.7% | ||
| Cressie Thigpen | Yes | 47.3%  | ||
| David S. Robinson | No | McGee Seat | 38.8% | |
| Linda McGee | Yes | 61.2% | ||
| Martin B. McGee | No | 43.5% | ||
| Wanda Bryant | Yes | 56.6% |
Ethics
The North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in North Carolina. It is composed of seven canons:
- Canon 1: "A judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary."
- Canon 2: "A judge should avoid impropriety in all the judge’s activities."
- Canon 3: Titled "A judge should perform the duties of the judge’s office impartially and diligently," outlines the responsibilities of judges and when they should disqualify themselves from a case.
- Canon 4: "A judge may participate in cultural or historical activities or engage in activities concerning the legal, economic, educational, or governmental system, or the administration of justice."
- Canon 5: "A judge should regulate the judge’s extra-judicial activities to ensure that they do not prevent the judge from carrying out the judge’s judicial duties." In part, this canon notes that a judge should not practice law.
- Canon 6: "A judge should regularly file reports of compensation received for quasi-judicial and extra-judicial activities."
- Canon 7: Describes what political activity is permissible: "A judge may engage in political activity consistent with the judge’s status as a public official."[9]
The full text of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.
Removal of judges
Judges in North Carolina may be removed in one of three ways:
- Impeachment by the house of representatives and conviction by a two-thirds vote of the senate.
- In case of mental or physical incapacity, by joint resolution of two thirds of the members of each house of the general assembly.
- By the supreme court, on the recommendation of the judicial standards commission. (The supreme court may choose to merely censure the judge.)[10]
Notable decisions
| • Justice for state trooper, fired over lost hat | Click for summary→ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A North Carolina state trooper who lied about his missing hat should not have been fired, according to a ruling by the North Carolina Court of Appeals.[11] Trooper Thomas Wetherington was dismissed from his job at the North Carolina Highway Patrol in 2009 when his hat allegedly blew away during a traffic stop in Craven County, North Carolina.[11] Wetherington reportedly stopped a vehicle on U.S. 70 and placed his trooper’s hat, known as a "campaign cover," on top of the vehicle while he reached through the window to take several alcohol containers and two loaded pistols away from the occupants. According to Wetherington’s written report of the incident, it was a windy night and he heard his hat blow away and strike the asphalt. Wetherington stated that he and a fellow trooper returned later and searched for the hat, but only managed to retrieve a flattened cord that had decorated his hat, which suggested to the troopers that hat had been flattened as well.[12] The same vehicle that Wetherington pulled over that night was stopped again two weeks later and Wetherington's hat was found inside the vehicle. The hat had been in the driver’s possession since the first traffic stop. It was in good condition and had not blown off the top of the car or been flattened as Wetherington stated in his official written report. Wetherington was subsequently charged with violating the state patrol’s truthfulness policy which provides that no trooper "shall willfully report any inaccurate, false, improper or misleading information."[11] In his defense, Wetherington stated:
The North Carolina Court of Appeals agreed, finding that Wetherington’s dismissal from his job was incongruous with the level of the offense.[11] | |||||||
State profile
| Demographic data for North Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,035,186 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 48,618 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 69.5% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 21.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 8.8% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.4% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $46,868 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 20.5% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in North Carolina. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
North Carolina voted Republican in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, six are located in North Carolina, accounting for 2.91 percent of the total pivot counties.[14]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. North Carolina had six Retained Pivot Counties, 3.31 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More North Carolina coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in North Carolina
- United States congressional delegations from North Carolina
- Public policy in North Carolina
- Influencers in North Carolina
- North Carolina fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Carolina Court Appeals. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- The North Carolina Court System, "Court of Appeals of North Carolina"
- General Assembly of North Carolina, "HB8: Court of Appeals Election Modifications," signed into law October 30, 2015
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ North Carolina Department of Justice, "Criminal Appeals Process," accessed June 8, 2015
- ↑ This may vary for the chief judge.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The North Carolina Judicial System, 2008 scroll to: "Court Personnel"
- ↑ North Carolina Board of Elections, "Running for Judicial Offices 2014 Election," archived March 15, 2015
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina: Session 2013, "Senate Bill 725," accessed June 12, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 McGee and Bryant did not file to run for re-election in 2020. When they last ran in 2012, judges ran in nonpartisan elections.
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Session Law 2015-292," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ The North Carolina Court System, "Order Adopting Amendments to the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct," January 2006
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of judges," accessed June 12, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 CBS News.com, "N.C. Court: Trooper Shouldn't Be Fired Over Story About Hat," December 18, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 NewsObserver.com, "Trooper fired at the drop of a hat," November 21, 2009
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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