In covering the Supreme Court races, we’re returning now to look at the Associate Justice race. This is a three-way race between Jeanette Doran, Eric Levinson, and incumbent Robin Hudson.  This is a three way race and I’ll be profiling each of the candidates and including points of contact. We’ll look at these candidates in alphabetical order, starting with Doran.

To get up to speed, check out the previous installments:

• The NC Supreme Court Races
• NC Supreme Court Races: Chief Justice Race
• NC Supreme Court Races: Chief Justice Race Part 2
• NC Supreme Court Races: Chief Justice Race Updates

An excellent resource is Judgepedia’s NC Supreme Court Elections 2014

Quick recap:

In the Associate Justice race containing Levinson, Hudson and Doran, the insertion of Doran seems to have come at a surprise.  Hudson is one of the 3 Democrats on the court. Doran’s entry here will force a primary to occur in that race so that the selection is narrowed to two candidates. This is the end of Hudson’s first term and her first attempt at re-election and seems to be ahead in fundraising so far.

NC law states that judicial candidates are to run in non-partisan races. NC law also says that when three or more candidates file for the same seat, there has to be a primary election in order to reduce the number to two candidates.

Just to restate, it is feasible that the Republicans, Doran and Levinson, could knock Hudson, a Democrat, out during the primary. This is a big deal.

About Jeanette Doran

Of the three running, Doran is the only one who does not yet have judgeship experience, however appears to have an strong legal and Constitutionalist resume. I was present at a the recent Wake Republican Women’s luncheon where several judicial candidates spoke. Doran was one of them and her 5 minute talk dealt a lot with the Constitution. One quote stuck out to me and I tweeted it at the time:

Doran now speaking. “When it comes to our fundamental rights the constitution means everything.” #ncpol #elections

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) April 17, 2014

Doran also seems to to be the only candidate of the three with an opinion on the increasingly controversial Common Core. Doran formerly was the executive director and general counsel for the NC  Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL).  She is currently at the Board of Review. This is also mentioned in her “About page” on Doran’s site:

Jeanette started her career as a federal law clerk in the Middle District of North Carolina. She then went to work in the appeals section of the Federal Public Defender as the Research and Writing Attorney where her work required her to appear before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 2004, Jeanette joined the staff of the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill. Then, in 2005, she became staff attorney at the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL), eventually becoming the Institute’s Executive Director in 2011 when Justice Bob Orr left NCICL for private practice. In December 2013, Jeanette was appointed by the Governor to serve as Chairperson of the newly established Board of Review. In her current position, Jeanette hears higher authority appeals of unemployment insurance and related tax claims from across North Carolina.

Also from the About page, a bit about qualifications:

Jeanette is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, various US District Courts, and all North Carolina state courts. She is active in the North Carolina Bar Association. She has served on the Appellate Rules Committee since 2006 and, in 2012, she was elected to the Section Council for the Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section.  Also in 2012, she was appointed by the NC House of Representatives to the Rules Review Commission, which reviews proposed regulations and rules from state agencies and commissions to ensure the regulations are authorized by statute and otherwise conform to the Administrative Procedures Act.

Points of Contact:

• Campaign Email: jeanetteforjustice@gmail.com
• Campaign Website: http://jeanetteforjustice.com/
• Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeanette-Doran/547056368725685
• Campaign Twitter: @JeanetteDoranNC

In the next installment, we’ll look at Superior Court Judge, Eric Levinson.

*This post has been updated.