Opinion: Justice deserves impartial judges, not biased politicians

Judges wear black robes for a reason. It is tradition and represents neutrality. Judges are referees who decide disputes based on facts and law, not favoritism or party affiliations. We should elect judges based on qualifications and merit, and not vote for a judicial candidate because they symbolically wear a Republican-red or Democrat-blue robe.  

Before we became Representatives in the NC Legislature in 2017, Joe John Jr. and I had long careers as judges. Joe was a trial and appellate judge. I was a district court judge. We were proud of our nonpartisan judicial backgrounds. As judges, we were elected and re-elected on ballots that listed our names without any political party affiliation. Voters chose us based on experience, reputation, knowledge of the law, impartiality, and fairness.  

During our first term in the legislature, Republican lawmakers eliminated nonpartisan elections and forced all judicial candidates to be identified on the ballot as Republican, Democrat, or other party affiliation. For eight years, Representative John led the fight for a return to nonpartisan judicial elections. During a press conference in 2023, he stated, “Rank political partisanship, plunging our judges into the muck and mire of partisan political campaigns, is the very antithesis of what we all expect in a judge: fairness, impartiality, and a dedicated and determined adherence to the law.” 

Thirteen states elect state supreme court justices in nonpartisan races. All candidates compete in a primary, and if the winner does not get more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election is held between the top two finishers in the primary. We should return to that method and select judges by merit, not by politics. We should stop the gross spending on judicial campaigns where lawyers and interested parties pour money into political party campaign coffers. Last year, over $6 million was spent on one NC Supreme Court race, that as of today remains undecided.    

In 2004, North Carolina was the first state to implement public finance laws for statewide judicial candidates to qualify for public financing if they agreed to abide by spending limits on campaigns. Judicial voter guides were mailed out to all registered voters to educate them about the candidates. This program was praised nationally as a way to elect judges on merit and not elect judges who would be beholden to political party ideology instead of justice. Sadly, public financing for judicial elections ended when judges had to declare party allegiance. 

Last month, I filed House Bill 129 along with Senator Lisa Grafstein (S 107), entitled “Judge John Nonpartisan Judicial Elections Act.” This bill would take politics and money out of judicial elections. It would also prevent a repeat of the current political fiasco where the Republican party is challenging 60,000 voters from having their votes count in a Supreme Court election. 

In my eighteen years serving as a judge, I never once ran in a partisan election. I never once decided a case based on politics. I applied the facts to the law. Let’s vote for judicial candidates based on merit, not politics and money. Justice deserves it.