Editorial: For the court

On Nov. 4, North Carolina voters will head to the polls for the general election. The Daily Reflector will recommend candidates in races prior to that vote, and today focuses on statewide judicial races.

Candidates for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in North Carolina accept a challenging task when they choose to seek election. They are usually not well known among the electorate, they must crisscross a massive state on a shoestring budget and they often must inform voters about the courts themselves as they petition for votes.

This year, state voters will select six judges, one for a seat on the Supreme Court and five for seats on the Court of Appeals. These are important races though they lack the spotlight given to more prominent races, and voters should favor candidates with the desire and temperament to serve on the bench.

Only one member of the Supreme Court, Robert Edmunds Jr., seeks reelection for another eight-year term on the state Supreme Court. He has been a fair jurist during his time there, bringing to the bench his experience in the arena of criminal law. He is a former U.S. attorney and a member of the state Court of Appeals.

His opponent, Suzanne Reynolds, is a law professor at Wake Forest University who is frequently cited by the state's highest court as an expert in family law. She believes the court should be issuing a greater number of opinions and says she would not have sought this seat without the public financing system.

While Edmunds is a capable judge, Reynolds offers experience in an area of the law that is needed on the court. Voters should select her for this seat.

The Court of Appeals is expected to hear about 1,700 cases each year, with each decided by three-judge panels. Like the Supreme Court, its members are elected to eight-year terms.

In three races, an incumbent seeking reelection should see that request honored by voters.

Jim Wynn, a Robersonville native, is one of the state's most respected and even-handed judges who should be selected over his opponent, Jewel Ann Farlow.

Linda Stephens has only been on the court for three years, but she has distinguished herself during that time as an engaged jurist who relishes the case load of an appeals court judge. Dan Barrett, her opponent, ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2004 and does not make a compelling case for replacing Stephens.

John Arrowood was appointed to the court in 2007 and is the first openly gay judge on the court. Robert Hunter, who seeks to replace him, is the former head of the state Board of Elections and has 35 years of legal experience. But Arrowood's work thus far justifies a full term on the court.

One incumbent, Doug McCullough, faces a tough battle because of a driving while impaired arrest in 2006, which earned him a public reprimand from the Judicial Standards Commission. That calls into question his judgment. The same cannot be said of Cheri Beasley, a state District Court judge, who boasts a litany of professional endorsements. She should make a worthy member of the court

Finally, John Tyson lost a bid for election in the primary, leaving Sam Ervin IV and Kristin Ruth in the general election. Ervin is a member of the N.C. utilities Commission with more than 18 years of legal experience. His opponent, Kristin Ruth, is a state district court judge with 10 years on that bench.

In this case, that experience as a jurist should take precedent and voters should elevate Ruth to the Court of Appeals.