Bryan Collins (North Carolina)

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Bryan Collins

North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division Judicial District 10E

Tenure

Present officeholder

Term ends

2028

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Davidson College, 1982

Law

University of North Carolina, 1985

Bryan Collins (also known as George) is a judge for Judicial District 10E of the North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.

Collins (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for the Judicial District 10E judge of the North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

The North Carolina Superior Courts are split into five divisions and 48 districts. Superior court judges rotate among the districts within their division every six months. However, superior court judges are elected by voters in their district and must reside in the district in which they are elected.

Education

Collins received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 1982 and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1985.

Career

Collins began his legal career as an attorney in private practice from 1985 to 2005. In 2005, he became the Public Defender for Wake County. He was then elected a superior court judge in 2012.

Awards and associations

Awards

• Legal Elite, Business North Carolina magazine

Associations

• Wake County Bar Association
• North Carolina Public Defender Association
• American Council of Chief Defenders
• Southlight, Inc.
• The Child's Advocate
• Carolina Correctional Services

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Wake County, North Carolina (2020)

General election

General election for North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division Judicial District 10E

Incumbent Bryan Collins won election in the general election for North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division Judicial District 10E on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Collins (D)	100.0	68,348

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,348
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Bryan Collins advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division Judicial District 10E.

2012

See also: North Carolina judicial elections, 2012

Collins defeated incumbent Judge Abraham P. Jones for the Superior Court seat in the general election on Nov. 6, 2012, receiving 51.9 percent of the vote.

Judicial candidate survey

The North Carolina Bar Association asked its members to rank judicial candidates on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being "excellent." Below are Collins' ratings in five categories and overall:

• Overall: 4.60
• Integrity & Fairness: 4.67
• Legal Ability: 4.62
• Professionalism: 4.67
• Communication: 4.55
• Administrative Skills: 4.54

Endorsements

• North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys

Approach to the law

I believe in coming to work on time, working hard, making difficult decisions that comply with the law and common sense and promoting efficiency and civility.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bryan Collins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Noteworthy cases

On February 22, 2019, Collins ruled that two constitutional amendments approved by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2018, - the North Carolina Income Tax Cap Amendment and the North Carolina Voter ID Amendment were invalid. His ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which challenged the amendments on the grounds that the General Assembly of North Carolina lacked the authority to propose them because its composition was the result of unconstitutional gerrymandering. In his opinion, Collins wrote, "An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state's Constitution."

NAACP and Clear Air Carolina v. Moore and Berger

See also: NAACP and Clear Air Carolina v. Moore and Berger

On August 6, 2018, the North Carolina NAACP and Clean Air Carolina sued the General Assembly of North Carolina in the Wake County Superior Court. The plaintiffs asked for four constitutional amendments—the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment, Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment, Voter ID Amendment, and Income Tax Cap Amendment—to be removed from the ballot. The case was not decided before the election; voters approved the Voter ID Amendment and the Income Tax Cap Amendment, and voters rejected the Legislative Appointments to Commissions Amendment and the Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment.

The NAACP and Clean Air Carolina said that since some lawmakers were elected from districts that a federal court ruled were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, the existing North Carolina State Legislature was a usurper legislature. Therefore, the plaintiffs argued that the constitutional amendments should be invalidated.

On February 22, 2019, Judge Bryan Collins ruled in favor of the NAACP and Clean Air Carolina, striking down the Voter ID Amendment and the Income Tax Cap Amendment. Judge Collins said, "Thus, the unconstitutional racial gerrymander tainted the three-fifths majorities required by the state Constitution before an amendment proposal can be submitted to the people for a vote, breaking the requisite chain of popular sovereignty between North Carolina citizens and their representatives. … Accordingly, the constitutional amendments placed on the ballot on November 6, 2018 were approved by a General Assembly that did not represent the people of North Carolina."

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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External links

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Footnotes

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