In case you’ve missed it, a new NC Supreme Court Justice will be elected this Fall. The candidates are Justice Mark Martin and Judge Ola Lewis. Martin already serves on the NC Supreme Court and is considered the natural choice to succeed Chief Justice Parker, who by law, has to step down at the end this month as she has reached her 72nd birthday. Between now and the November election, the NC Supreme Court needs a temporary Chief Justice. Today, Governor Pat McCrory appointed Martin to serve as that temporary Chief.
“Justice Martin has served as the Senior Associate Justice since 2006, and our Court is better for it,” McCrory continued. “The humility and integrity of his character has benefited our state, and his knowledge and depth of experience is inimitable. I look forward to his work as Chief Justice as he draws upon his more than 20 years of judicial experience.”
Martin, a Republican, will take the oath of office on September 1 for an appointive term that runs through December 31. He will continue his campaign for chief justice and hopes to be elected in November to an eight-year term.
All five living former Chief Justices of the NC Supreme Court, three Democrats and two Republicans, have endorsed Martin for the position of chief justice.
McCrory cited tradition in the appointment of the most Senior Justice to the role. Judge Lewis didn’t see the appointment as being tradition, but instead more of what Lewis alleges is “unjust behavior”.
Hmm Natural Choice = unjust behavior? MT @WWAY: Judge Lewis fires back after Martin named next Chief Justice http://t.co/v3kvQxNijO #ncpol
— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) August 18, 2014
Martin’s opponent this fall is Brunswick County Resident Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis. Despite also being a Republican, Lewis believes the party is targeting her for choosing to run against Martin by publicly endorsing him and supporting new regulations that would change the way ballots are ordered to list Martin first.
“There are many good things about being a member of the GOP,” Lewis told WWAY. “My favorite is the willingness of those of us on the outside looking in to vote against the establishment. We shall proceed accordingly this fall. Their unjust behavior in this race will not determine my beliefs. This is the people’s seat, and the people shall decide the outcome of this election. Not party bosses.”
McCrory’s office says the governor is continuing tradition by appointing the Senior Associate Justice to the Chief Justice vacancy.
I’ve already written about the claims made by Judge Lewis over the ballot order changes — which apply to all candidates in all races and were actually first put into play for primaries during the Democrats majority at the NC General Assembly. Put simply, the ballot ordering is not singling anyone out. It also bears mentioning that Judge Lewis appears first in the voter guides, yet no one is crying foul over that.
The strategy of her own party being against her might be somewhat of her own making. Remember, Judge Lewis made it clear that she intended to run for a different Judgeship, where she would have been a favorite. Lewis then jumped into the Chief Justice race, where the incumbent’s experience and endorsements speak for themselves. One has to wonder who is “against” who here.
UPDATE: WECT also reported on this appointment, including a comment from Judge Lewis that should be addressed.
“Our current Supreme Court, with Martin second in command, is ranked one of the lowest in the nation by way of performance, according to a Duke (University) Law Study. The appointment was done without regard for what is best for our state judiciary. I am going to stay the course and look forward to serving this great state as the new Chief Justice of the NC Supreme court,” she said.
The Duke Study is from 2009.
Back in April, I asked Judge Lewis where this claim of performance ranking came from and the sources she provided were:
Business as usual at the Supreme Court – NC Policy Watch, June 2013
Discretion at the Supreme Court – NC Policy Watch, September 2013
What Exactly Is a “Substantial Constitutional Question” for Purposes of Appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court? – Justice Orr, Law Review, March 2011
The first Policy Watch ‘Business as Usual‘ article appears to get the number of opinions wrong by claiming Justice Edmunds had the most. Justice Martin confirmed to me he had eight as well which makes it a tie. The Policy Watch article amazingly compares NC’s court to the U.S. Supreme Court to prove the NC court is ‘slow’.
The second Policy Watch article repeats the same claim of a low productivity court in comparison to other courts, but links back to it’s first article as proof.
Note: For those who aren’t aware – Policy Watch is a very left leaning outfit and arm of NC Justice Center, which hatched BlueprintNC and their now infamous “attack” memo.
Catch up on the Supreme Court Justice Races:
- 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
- NC GOP Judicial Candidate Endorsements
- About That General Election Ballot…
LL1885 