N.C. Appeals Court judge is seeking re-election
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on September 9, 2014 1:46 PM
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Mark Davis
State Court of Appeals Judge Mark Davis is running for re-election and says Wayne County voters should cast their ballots for him in November.
Davis, 48, who has served on the Court of Appeals for two years, was appointed to the office by former Gov. Beverly Perdue. He said his experience on the bench makes him the best choice for the job.
Davis, a native of Fayetteville, faces a challenge from District Court Judge Paul Holcombe, who serves in Johnston, Lee and Harnett counties.
The race is non-partisan.
Davis said he has helped hear more than 600 cases in his time on the Court of Appeals and has helped write more than 200 decisions. He also argued dozens of cases before the court before being appointed. He was a special deputy attorney general, he worked in private practice, and he has served as general counsel to the governor.
The Court of Appeals hears cases on appeal from lower courts and tries to determine if the law has been properly applied to the facts in those cases. There are 15 members of the Court of Appeals. They serve eight-year terms.
"I'm trying to run a positive campaign, talking about my background, my credentials and how I have gone about doing my job on the court," Davis said during a campaign stop Monday in Goldsboro. "I take my oath very, very seriously and would never let any agenda enter into my decision-making. If you let that affect your decisions, you have no right to be a judge."
Davis said his most difficult task is the same as it is for most judicial candidates -- getting voters to know who he is.
"The real challenge is to get my name out among the voters and hope to give them some idea of who we are and what our background is."
"I have no personal or political agenda," Davis said. "I took an oath to follow the law and I take that very seriously."
He noted the bipartisan support he has received from four former chief justices of the state Supreme Court: Burley B. Mitchell, Henry Frye, James G. Exum and I. Beverly Lake. Seventeen former members of the appellate court also have endorsed him.
"I'm proud of the work I've done and I'd like to keep doing it," Davis said.
Davis cited his strong background in civil matters as a positive, noting that the Court of Appeals hears civil cases of all kinds.
He said he understands that many voters are unfamiliar with the judicial races on the ballot but said they are important and that voters would be wise to learn more about the candidates.
"It's in their interest to get informed," he said, "and learn who is running for the bench so they can make wise voting decisions."
Davis said he is concerned by the amount of out-of-state money that is being poured into the campaigns of some candidates.
"It concerns me. I don't think it benefits anyone," he said. "It's a very disturbing trend."
Davis noted that Appeals Court decisions are important, that they often set precedents for other cases across the state.
"We're not just deciding the case before us, we're setting out legal principles that will be involved in future cases," he said.
The state Court of Appeals was the final step in the vast majority of cases that are appealed. Few make it to the state Supreme Court. Davis said that makes the Court of Appeals' role even more crucial.
"The buck stops with us in 98 percent of the cases," he said.