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2 compete for seat on Court of Appeals
Dan Barrett challenges Judge Linda Stephens
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Published: November 1, 2008
A Davie County lawyer trying to unseat a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals says that the appeals court too often fails to clear up legal disputes.
Dan Barrett, an employment-law lawyer from Advance and a former Davie County commissioner, is trying to win the seat held by Judge Linda Stephens. Barrett attracted some attention in 2004 when he ran for governor and walked across the state.
Stephens was first appointed to the court by Gov. Mike Easley in 2006. He reappointed her in 2007, after she narrowly lost her bid for election.
Stephens has endorsements from all three of the state's legal groups that make endorsements -- the N.C. Association of Defense Attorneys, the N.C. Advocates of Justice, which used to be called the Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the N.C. Association of Women's Attorneys.
Stephens said that the fact that the trial lawyers' group and the defense attorneys support her is a sign of her fairness. Lawyers from the two groups often are on opposite sides in civil cases.
Both candidates tout their accomplishments coming from humble backgrounds. Stephens was the first in her family to finish high school. Barrett grew up working on farms in the summer in Scotland County and worked throughout law school at Wake Forest.
Both say they have valuable expertise to offer: Barrett in employment law and county government, and Stephens from past work for the N.C. Industrial Commission, which handles workers' compensation cases.
Barrett says that the appeals court has three problems he would like to work on.
The court has 15 judges who hear cases challenging whether a trial judge correctly applied the law. Sometimes, when different panels of judges hear similar issues, the result can be opinions that seem to conflict, Barrett said.
There should be some way for the appeals court as a whole to look at those opinions and reconcile them, he said.
Barrett said that a second problem is the common use of unpublished opinions, which decide a particular case but don't form a legal precedent -- meaning that lawyers can't rely on them in trying to sort out new cases.
Barrett gave this example: Stephens recently wrote an opinion that determined a court reporter could administer an oath to a man over the phone.
But the opinion was unpublished, and the N.C. Secretary of State's Office, which sets rules for court reporters, has disagreed and said that because the ruling is unpublished, it doesn't apply to other cases.
Stephens said she could not comment about that case because it's pending before the N.C. Supreme Court.
Speaking generally, Stephens said that an opinion is left unpublished after all three judges discuss whether the case makes new law. If they believe it does not, then it's unpublished. When there's disagreement, she said, she typically defers to more experienced judges.
Barrett said that Stephens too often did not finish writing her opinions within 90 days of a hearing, which is an appeals- court guideline. In about 35 opinions, it took four months or more, he said.
"It's possible to do a good job and be timely at the same time," Barrett said.
Stephens said that her focus is on getting each case right, and that cases vary in how complex they are.
"It's a guideline, not a rule," Stephens said.
"It's a guideline in recognition of the fact that every case is different."
Stephens said she has written about 200 opinions in all and that the state Supreme Court has disagreed with only one.
Voters can look at the opinions and decide if she has been fair, she said.
"They don't have to take my word for it," she said. "Voters have a body of my work now that they evaluate and judge for themselves."
■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.
N.C. Appeals Court
Dan Barrett
• Age: 49.
• Lives in: Advance.
• Job: Attorney with an office in Clemmons; focuses on employment law.
• Experience: 23 years as an attorney; the author of North Carolina Employment Law. Law degree from Wake Forest University, 1985.
• Top priority if elected: To bring clarity to the law and reconcile conflicting court opinions.
• Web site: www.barrettforjudge.com.
Linda Stephens
• Age: 57.
• Lives in: Raleigh.
• Job: Judge on N.C. Court of Appeals since 2006.
• Experience: 29 years as an attorney, former deputy commissioner on N.C. Industrial Commission. Law degree from UNC Chapel Hill, 1979.
• Top priority if elected: To apply the law fairly and impartially to all the cases that come before the court.
• Web site: www.judgelinda.org.
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