Q&A: Carolyn Jennings Thompson talks justice, previous experience

The Daily Tar Heel's McKenzie Bulris spoke with Carolyn Jennings Thompson, the Democratic candidate for the N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 12, to discuss her candidacy and aspirations for the court. Her Republican opponent is Tom Murry.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

The Daily Tar Heel: What do you want voters to know about you?

Carolyn Jennings Thompson: I want them to know that for this seat, Seat 12, I am the only one with actual trial experience and actual judicial experience, and we have too many serious issues facing North Carolinians to deal with someone who's just running on a party ticket. The judicial race cannot be focused solely on partisanship; it has to be focused on what we've got as a community to deal with — our kitchen table issues –voter rights, reproductive health rights, abilities to believe in the court system again when we have taken an oath to uphold precedence.

DTH: What does justice mean to you?

CJT: It means trust in a decision made with fair and impartial eyes — without fear or favor to anyone, any party and any outside arguments that don't line up with the law and the Constitution. Justice means it's a balanced scale when you come into the courtroom and they're not tilted because of influences, partisanship or because you're not represented by counsel. Justice, when I see it through my lenses as a presiding judge, I look at a clean slate and then I listen to all the facts and apply the law equally.

DTH: As a judge on the Court of Appeals, what issues are important to you?

CJT: I'm concerned because I'm the grandmother to six beautiful biracial children, and they live in a climate where somebody could challenge their ethnicity by saying they may turn Black one day. I'm a mom to African-American males who are just as concerned about driving on the highways and being pulled over because they might be driving my car instead. The same issues that are impacting voters — who are looking for judges with fair minds, who understand the issues — those are mine too. I'm not just a candidate, but I'm a voter.

DTH: What makes you the better candidate?

CJT: Experience. My opponent has not been a judge, but beyond that, he has not tried a case. It's appalling to me — if you've not been in the courtroom to try a case — to create the very record that the judges on the appellate level look at then really serious about the position. That's the stark difference between us, but the most important one is the absence of experience that is required to handle this level of cases on an appellate level.

DTH: What would your primary goals be if elected?

CJT: My first goal is to bring attention to what the Court of Appeals is about. As I'm traveling 100 counties campaigning, it's like an "aha" moment for folks who don't know what this court is about. Just the possibility of informing the voter before an election is my first priority.

Another thing I would say is to restore trust in the court. So many people are concerned about U.S. Supreme Court decisions, but, right here in our state, we've got decisions that are impacting our rights, our democracy, our freedoms and we need to be able to hold accountable those who tell us they are going to author opinions based on precedence.

@mckbul

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com

---