Candidate seeking seat on state Court of Appeals
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on September 19, 2014 1:46 PM
Full Size
Elizabeth Davenport Scott
An attorney with Wayne County ties is running for a seat on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Elizabeth Davenport Scott is the granddaughter of E.J. Pope. Her mother grew up in Mount Olive and her husband, Bob, is originally from Goldsboro.
She is running for the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice John Martin and faces 18 other opponents in the crowded field.
That makes name recognition crucial, she said, and she is busy stumping across the state to try to get her name in front of the public.
The Raleigh attorney is making her first bid for public office but said she considers herself to be running on her experience. A former law clerk to both justices Robert Orr and Willis Whichard, she has experience at both the Appeals Court and state Supreme Court levels.
And with nearly 30 years of experience practicing law in a variety of areas, she said, she is ready to take on the challenge of being a member of the Appeals Court.
Although she is a registered Republican, Mrs. Scott said she is not approaching the race from a partisan point of view.
"I'll not bring partisan politics to the court," she said. "I would approach each case on its own merits. I pledge to the voters to be fair and impartial and follow the rules of law."
The Court of Appeals does not try to determine the facts in cases on appeals but decides whether the law has been properly applied to the facts.
In the majority of cases, especially commercial and business cases, it is often the court of last resort -- a fact that makes the 15-member court of appeals a crucial part of the state's judicial system, Mrs. Scott said.
She said her strong background in business law would be of benefit to the court. Most judges do not have that much business law experience, she said.
"I think I would be able to bring a breadth and variety of experience to the court, if elected by the voters," she said.
Mrs. Scott is a currently a partner with the Raleigh firm of Williams Mullen. She has experience in representing manufacturers, long-term care facilities and financial institutions in business disputes.
She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina School of Law with honors.
Mrs. Scott is a third generation attorney originally from Nash County. She is the daughter of John Edwin Davenport and Mary Lib Pope Davenport of Raleigh.
She served as ethics committee co-chair of the litigation section of the North Carolina Bar Association and on the Appellate Rules Study Committee.
Mrs. Scott received Triangle Business Journal's "Women in Business" award in 2009 and has been listed in North Carolina Super Lawyer Magazine. She has also been listed in Benchmark Litigation's publication: "Top 250 Women in Litigation."