Trey Allen (North Carolina)

Trey Allen

Republican Party

North Carolina Supreme Court

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2031

Years in position

2

Compensation

Base salary

$197,802

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 1997

Law

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

2000 - 2005

Personal

Birthplace

Lumberton, N.C.

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Trey Allen (Republican Party) is a judge of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on January 1, 2031.

Allen (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Allen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Trey Allen was born in Lumberton, North Carolina. Allen served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2005. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1997 and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2000. Allen's career experience includes working as an attorney and professor.

Elections

2022

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Trey Allen defeated incumbent Sam Ervin IV in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Allen (R)	52.2	1,957,440
		Sam Ervin IV (D)	47.8	1,792,873

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,750,313
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Sam Ervin IV advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court

Trey Allen defeated April C. Wood and Victoria Prince in the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Allen	55.4	385,124
		April C. Wood	36.3	252,504
	Submit photo	Victoria Prince	8.3	57,672

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 695,300
= 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.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Trey Allen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Allen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in rural Robeson County. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from UNC Pembroke and a law degree from UNC Chapel Hill, I began my legal career as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps. My military service included a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After being honorably discharged, I returned to NC and completed a clerkship with a justice on the NC Supreme Court. I then practiced education law and became a partner at Tharrington Smith LLP in Raleigh. While in private practice, I successfully litigated cases involving constitutional and other claims before administrative agencies, federal and state trial courts, and federal and state appellate courts. In 2013 I joined the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill, where my research, writing, and teaching focused on local government law. I was named Coates Distinguished Term Associate Professor of Public Law and Government for 2020-2022.​ In January 2021, I was appointed General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts. My office gives legal guidance on criminal and civil issues to judges, clerks of court, and magistrates throughout the state. I am married to Teryn Allen. Together we have five children. Church activities, sports, and Scouting take up much of our family's free time.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Many people have lost faith in our courts because they believe that judges routinely make decisions based on their political views. If elected to the NC Supreme Court, I will work to increase confidence in the judiciary by deciding every case solely on the facts and the law. Politics will play no part in my decisions.
• We need a justice system that treats everyone fairly but that also holds people who have been duly convicted of wrongdoing accountable for their actions.
• Continued technological innovation could dramatically improve the administration of justice in North Carolina by making our courts more accessible and efficient. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many judges began holding remote proceedings under emergency orders adopted by the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court. As General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC), I worked on legislation that has allowed judges to continue holding certain proceedings remotely after the expiration of those orders. The NCAOC is also in the process of implementing electronic filing for our judicial system. Electronic filing should make it much for more people to participate in our justice system.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My views on matters of public policy are not relevant to my campaign for a seat on the NC Supreme Court. The authority of the judiciary ultimately rests on the public's confidence that the courts base their rulings on the facts and the law. If elected to the NC Supreme Court, I will not allow my policy preference or political opinions to influence my decisions.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

I believe that our state's judges should remain faithful to our federal and state constitutions, base their decisions solely on the facts and the law, and provide equal justice under law for all North Carolinians. In constitutional cases, judges should be guided by the text and history of the constitutional provision(s) at issue. Judges should interpret statutes according to their wording and the intent of the legislature. Judges should not rewrite our laws to match their personal preferences or political opinions. While treating everyone fairly and with respect, the courts should hold individuals who have been duly convicted of crimes accountable for their actions.

If you are not a sitting judge, do you have any previous judicial experience? Do you believe it’s important to have that kind of experience for this judgeship?

When it comes to service on the NC Supreme Court, broad legal experience is more important than previous experience as a judge. (Three of the Court's seven current justices were not judges prior to joining the Court.) I began my legal career as a judge advocate in the US Marine Corps, prosecuting crimes, advising commanders, and helping Marines with their personal legal problems. I practiced law and became a partner at a Raleigh law firm, where I handled constitutional law and other civil claims in state and federal courts. I subsequently joined the faculty at the UNC School of Government, earning tenure and a distinguished term professorship for my teaching and scholarship on aspects of NC law. In my current role as General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts, I serve as the top attorney for our state’s court system. Trial court judges, clerks of court, and magistrates contact my office for legal guidance on criminal and civil matters.

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.

State supreme court judicial selection in North Carolina

See also: Judicial selection in North Carolina

The seven justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court are chosen through partisan elections. Justices are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a person must be licensed to practice law in North Carolina. There is a mandatory retirement age of 72 years.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is elected by voters to serve in that capacity for an eight-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor to serve until the next general election which is held more than 60 days after the vacancy occurs. The governor must select an appointee from a list of three recommendations provided by the executive committee of the political party with which the vacating justice was affiliated. An election is then held for a full eight-year term.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

See also

North Carolina	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in North Carolina North Carolina Court of Appeals North Carolina Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in North Carolina	Federal courts State courts Local courts

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North Carolina courts

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Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina

State courts:

Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts

State resources:

Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina