NC Court Of Appeals Races – Pt 1

Changing lanes from the Supreme Court races, here are some highlights and information on the Court of Appeals races. There are three seats to run for in the Court of Appeals, however, one candidate has the distinction of running unopposed: Donna Stroud. That leaves two other races to look at:

Judge Robert C. Hunter’s Seat
Judge Mark A. Davis’s Seat

We’ll check out the first race in this installment. A second article will cover the Davis seat.

1. Judge Robert C. Hunter’s Seat

In August of 2014, Hunter announced he would not seek reelection. Robert C. Hunter is not related or the same as the Bob Hunter running for the Martin seat on the Supreme Court. Applying to run for this seat are Judge William ‘Bill’ Southern (Republican) and Judge Lucy Inman (Democrat).

About Bill Southern

Judge Southern is currently a District Court Judge for Surry and Stokes county (17B Judicial District). From the About Page on Southern’s website:

Judge Bill Southern was raised in Stokes County where he still calls home. He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from Texas Southern University School of Law.

In 2008, Judge Southern was elected as a District Court Judge for Stokes and Surry Counties. In this capacity, he hears countless criminal and domestic cases each year, many involving families, children, and the elderly. Prior to his election, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Stokes and Surry Counties.

Professional Background:

District Court Judge – District 17B (Stokes and Surry Counties) (2008-Present)

Assistant District Attorney – District 17B (2006-2008)

Certified Juvenile Court Judge, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts

Judge Southern does not have a list endorsements on his site, but does have one listed in the news section. Southern’s Twitter feed is testimony to the events and groups he has spoken with as is his Facebook page with many pictures of his signature bow-tie. Campaign contribution details on donors for the current cycle were not yet available at the NC Board of Elections.

Points of Contact For Bill Southern:

Campaign Email: southernforjudge@gmail.com
Campaign Website: http://southernforjudge.com/
Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judgesouthern
Campaign Twitter: @JudgeSouthern

About Judge Lucy Inman

Judge Inman is currently a Special Superior Court Judge and began in that role in 2010 after being appointed by Former Governor Bev Perdue. Prior to that Inman was civil litigator (1992-2010) and clerked for NC Supreme Court Chief Justice James G. Exum, Jr. (1990-1992).

A bit about her education background, which also has an extended bio, is on her About Page:

Judge Lucy Inman grew up in Raleigh. She graduated from Sanderson High School and received all her prior education in North Carolina public schools. She graduated from N.C. State University with highest honors in 1984. She worked as a newspaper reporter before attending The University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, where she received her law degree with honors in 1990.

Inman’s Judgepedia page, as of this article being published, is incomplete. I did locate the “People’s Alliance PAC 2014” questionnaire though.

Lucy Daniels Inman is a member of the Daniels family, which owned and ran the News and Observer for some time before being sold to McClatchy. Inman’s father, Jonathan, was an executive editor for the paper before passing away in 1981. The NY Times ran a story memorializing him which opened with these paragraphs:

Jonathan Daniels, the former editor of The Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer who served as press secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was an adviser to President Truman, died yesterday in Hilton Head Island, S.C., after a long illness. He was 79 years old.

Mr. Daniels was also a prolific author, a consummate politician, a historian, a gourmet and a gadfly. It was he who disclosed that President Roosevelt had a love affair with his wife’s former social secretary, Lucy Page Murcer. Mr. Daniels wrote briefly about the affair in 1954 in his book ”The End of Innocence.” And he gave the details of the relationship in his 1966 book ”The Time Between the Wars.”

Inman has a long list of endorsements, but they do not include donors. NC Board of elections reports indicate that contributions mainly are from attorneys; one donor of note is Gerda Stein, who sits on the board of BlueprintNC – the outfit who disseminated the attack memo a year ago calling for the ‘crippling and eviscerating’ of the Governor and Republicans.

Points of Contact For Judge Lucy Inman: