Our choice in the Republican primary for the North Carolina Supreme Court

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Judicial elections tend to get little attention and voters often choose with little knowledge, but this year the media and the voters need to focus on two North Carolina Supreme Court races.

If a Republican wins one, the court majority will shift from 4-3 Democratic to 4-3 Republican. That could affect the outcome of major cases about public school funding, election maps, voting laws and now, it appears, abortion rights.

The state Supreme Court’s heavy politicking has begun with a Republican contest for the nomination to challenge Democratic Justice Sam Ervin. In the high court’s other contest, two appeals court judges – Democrat Lucy Inman and Republican Richard Dietz – will be on the November ballot vying for the seat of Democratic Justice Robin Hudson, who is retiring.

In the May 17 GOP Supreme Court primary, the leading candidates are Appeals Court Judge April Wood and UNC professor Trey Allen, currently general counsel to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Victoria Prince, a family law attorney with the Lexington law firm of Penry Terry & Mitchell, entered the Republican primary at the last minute, but did not respond to calls for an interview and shows no signs of campaigning.

Both Wood and Allen describe themselves as “originalists” who do not think that interpretation of the state or U.S. constitutions should evolve as society and circumstances change.

Wood, who emphasizes that she’s a Christian conservative, grew up in a military family in places around the world, including Adak, Alaska, and Okinawa, Japan, while her father served in the U.S. Marine Corps. She graduated from Pensacola (Fla.) Christian College and received her law degree from Regent University School of Law in Virginia. She also has a master’s of law from Campbell University.

In 2002, Wood, 49, was first elected to the district court bench serving Davidson and Davie counties. She was elected to the court of appeals in 2020.

Wood told the Editorial Board that she could bring her district court experience to a N.C. Supreme Court where only one of the seven current members, Justice Michael Morgan, has experience presiding over trials. She said she “loves being a judge” and is philosophical about this race because even if she loses she will remain on the court of appeals.

Allen, 47, is a Robeson County native and a graduate of UNC Pembroke who received his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. He stresses his military service, where he began his legal career as a judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps. Allen is a professor at the UNC School of Government, where he focuses on local government law. He has taken a leave to serve as general counsel to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).

Allen told the Editorial Board that he could bring to the court knowledge from his academic work. He also has a familiarity with the high court’s internal functions gained from his service as a one-time clerk to Paul Newby, now chief justice. Newby has made his support for Allen.

While both candidates are deeply conservative, Allen is closely tied to, and in some respects beholden to, Newby, who appointed him as general counsel to the AOC.

Allen, like most originalists, contends that ideology would not color how he votes on cases. “My goal would be to put aside whatever my personal feelings are and follow the law,” he said.

Of course, we heard similar reassurances from five originalist U.S Supreme Court justices. They now appear poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that has stood for nearly 50 years.

Primary voters may have a hard time distinguishing between these two conservative jurists. But Wood would be a better addition to the court based on her experience as a trial judge and her potential to be a justice working more independently of the chief justice.

We recommend April Wood in this Republican primary.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Our choice in the Republican primary for the North Carolina Supreme Court."