Search to begin for new judge
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 23, 2015 1:50 AM
A three-member panel will be appointed to handle the ballots for candidates for the unexpired term of the late District Court Judge Tim Finan.
Finan, 62, died June 30, and under state law, it is the responsibility of the judicial district bar to nominate five candidates who are residents of the district, and authorized to practice law in the district, for consideration by the governor.
The term ends in 2016.
"The official notice of vacancy went out Monday," Eighth Judicial District bar president Tonya Nicole Davis Barber said. "The deadline on that is 5 o'clock (Monday) Aug. 31 to send out your intentions to become a nominee to me. After everything comes in, I am in the process of appointing a committee to handle all of the ballots and add them up.
"That will be a three-person committee -- likely someone from Wayne County, someone from Lenoir County and Greene County so that all of our counties are represented."
Once the ballots are sent out to bar members for a vote, Ms. Barber said she expects there to be a two-week turnaround to get all of the votes in, counted, and the list of top nominees sent to Gov. Pat McCrory.
That means McCrory should have the nominations by the end of September.
"It might be a little sooner than that," she said.
There will be at least three nominations for the governor, she said.
McCrory can make an appointment from that list or appoint someone else.
Ms. Barber said people have already been talking about who might be interested and added that several people have expressed interest in being nominees.
Some time was allowed out of respect for Finan and his family, Ms. Barber said.
"We didn't want to rush it," she said. "We are sort of taking some time to gather ourselves after such a tragic loss. Earlier I spoke with (Chief District Court) Judge (David) Brantley and there was no rush -- we had plenty of emergency judges available. Judge Brantley had been advised that we would have no problems getting people here to help.
"But I felt like it was time now to go ahead and send the information out."
Gov. Mike Easley appointed Finan to the District Court in February 2007 after the resignation of Judge Rose Vaughn Williams, who took a job with the state Insurance Commissioner's Office.
Finan was Goldsboro city attorney at that time.
Civil cases such as divorce, custody and child support and cases involving less than $25,000 are heard in District Court, along with criminal cases involving misdemeanors and infractions.
The trial of a criminal case in district court is always without a jury.
The district court also hears juvenile cases involving children under the age of 16.