Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Bryan Collins (North Carolina)
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.[1] However, superior court judges are elected by voters in their district and must reside in the district in which they are elected.[2]
Education
Collins received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 1982 and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1985.[3]
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.[3]
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[3]
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 |
| Total votes: 68,348 | |||
 = 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. 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.[4][5]
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[6]
Endorsements
- North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys[7]
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.[3]
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."[8][9]
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. [10] 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.[11]
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."[12]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "North Carolina Superior Court: About," accessed October 9, 2019
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Court Officials: Superior Court Judges," accessed October 9, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Per information submitted to Judgepedia on biographical submission form on March 3, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections: November 6, 2012 General Election - Official Results
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandidates - ↑ North Carolina Bar Association, "Voter Guide for Non-Incumbents," 2012 Scroll to page 5
- ↑ North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys: 2012 endorsement announcement
- ↑ The News & Observer, "NC judge throws out voter ID and income tax constitutional amendments," February 22, 2019
- ↑ Third Division of the Superior Court, North Carolina, North Carolina State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Clean Air Carolina v. Tim Moore, Philip Berger, February 22, 2019
- ↑ WRAL, "NAACP, environmentalists sue to keep constitutional amendments off the ballot," August 6, 2018
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednaacp1 - ↑ Wake County Superior Court, "NAACP and Clear Air Carolina v. Moore and Berger," February 22, 2019
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
