Judge says experience gives him edge in Court of Appeals election
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 29, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Judge John Tyson talks about his experience during a recent campaign stop in Goldsboro. Tyson is running for a second term in the state Court of Appeals.
Experience, education and knowledge are what Judge John M. Tyson says set him apart from the other 18 candidates for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.
Tyson, 61, has previously served a full eight-year term on the Court of Appeals. Also, as a resident of Fayetteville, Tyson said he also offers geographic diversity.
He stopped in Goldsboro during part of a campaign swing across the state. Tyson is a Republican, but judicial races are nonpartisan.
There is concern among the bar that the Court of Appeals is becoming a Raleigh court when it should instead be representative of all areas of the state, Tyson said. Most of its members are from Wake County.
"You know, the best prediction of what someone will do is what they have done if you believe that," he said. "One thing I can do that none of my opponents can do, I don't have to tell you what I will do.
"I can tell you what I have done and that is my record that I will carry forth in the future as opposed to folks who have never written an opinion."
Tyson served on that court from 2001 to 2009 and then continued to serve as a recall judge on the court when need.
He also served as an emergency Superior Court judge after receiving a gubernatorial appointment. He most recently chaired the state Ethics Committee before stepping down to run for office.
While on the Court of Appeals, Tyson ruled in 2,523 appellate cases and wrote more than 1,000 majority, concurring and dissenting opinions for the court -- 99 percent of the majority rulings were affirmed or left undistributed by the state Supreme Court.
Also, 45 percent of his dissenting opinions were adopted by the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeals has 15 members that sit as panels of three. Four of the 15 seats are up for election, meaning the court is losing experience, something that he offers, Tyson said.
A candidate files for a specific seat.
"We sit with that panel for six weeks then we rotate to another panel," he said. "All of the appeals are filed at the Court of Appeals that is administrative, civil and criminal. It is the court where there is an appeal of right.
"It is not a discretionary review. If you are not happy with the result in the trial court, and you can identify errors that occurred then you have a guaranteed automatic right to appeal to the Court of Appeals."
The court is final in about 85 percent of the cases in the state, he said.
"It is a heavy workload of a court -- 2,000 appeal a year," Tyson said. "Each judge, the workload on average would be review nine cases a week and write three opinions a week. That is 150 opinions a year, 50 weeks. So if you hated to write term papers, it is the wrong place to be."
Tyson said as an English major, who taught grammar at New Hanover High School, he is used to writing and enjoys working with words.
A judge just needs to have strong research and writing skills and an ability to understand language, he said.
"People choose words in deeds, contracts and agreements because they convey a thought," he said. "When the parties agree to that word or sentence they expect that intent or meaning to be upheld.
"Where we come in is where there is a disagreement over what that clause or word means. It could be in a statute. It could be in a contract. It could be in a ruling that another judge makes. So the skill set of being able to analyze language and apply the plain meaning of words is very important for an appellate judge."