Stackhouse seeking judicial seat
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 23, 2015 1:46 PM
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Curtis Stackhouse
Curtis Stackhouse, 34, of Goldsboro, said that while he might be young, he possesses the skills and qualifications needed to serve as a district court judge.
Stackhouse filed Friday for the district court seat that he had been the leading choice of 8th Judicial District Bar members to fill following the death of Judge Tim Finan in June.
"The people who would know best who should be the next District Court judge, the attorneys in town, who interact with judges on a daily basis, overwhelmingly voted me as their choice to recommend to the governor as to whom to appoint," he said. "Of course that is not binding (on the governor)."
Annette W. Turik of Kinston, who placed second in the bar voting, was appointed to complete Finan's term that ends in December 2016.
Stackhouse, who has worked the district attorney's office for the past six years, and Mrs. Turik will face off in the Nov. 8 general election. Judicial races are nonpartisan.
The 8th Judicial District includes Wayne, Lenoir and Greene counties.
"I have the qualities and skills," Stackhouse said. "I am very efficient. I have great docket management. I'm very respectful to people, which can be tough sometimes for an assistant district attorney when things are so busy and you have 500 cases on the calendar and you want to get things done. You have got to keep calm and collected and listen to people. Listen to what they have to say.
"People have seen that. I have gotten a lot of support over the years about becoming a district court judge."
There is a barometer to look at -- the recent district bar vote for nominating a replacement for the late Finan, he said.
Stackhouse received 101 votes while Mrs. Turik had 50 from the 132 attorneys who voted. Each attorney is allowed up to five votes. They can use one or five votes, but cannot cast more than one vote for one person.
"So out of 132 attorneys, 101 them in this district checked my name, which is 76.5 percent," Stackhouse said. "The next best was 50 which is about 33 percent. Those are judges, defense attorneys, private attorneys, other prosecutors -- the people who would know who best to be the next district court judge.
"The biggest concern I hear from the people in the community is that 'You have only been a prosecutor for six years. These other attorneys on the ballot have more years behind them.' Apparently that is not a concern amongst the bar because they have seen me work, and they have interacted with me, and they believe that even without 20 years of experience Curtis Stackhouse, he's got what it takes."
That, he said, is why people should vote for him.
"I have all of the skills and qualities," he said. "I was born and raised in Wayne County, and I love this community. I am invested in this community with both my family and my work.
Stackhouse is the son of Dr. Jim Stackhouse and Joyce Keller, a Goldsboro attorney.
He is a 1999 graduate of Eastern Wayne High School and received a business management degree in 2003 from N.C. State University. He received his law degree from the N.C. Central University School of Law in 2009.
While working on his law degree, Stackhouse completed internships in the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the Wake County Public Defenders Office.
"I decided I want to be a prosecutor, that I wanted to represent people and help protect people from bad things that happen -- that was my calling," he said. "I would have gone anywhere in the state to become a prosecutor. Jobs were scarce at the time.
"Remarkably, (D.A.) Branny Vickory had a job opening -- a new federal grant that paid for a new prosecutor. I was interviewed and hired by Mr. Vickory. So I got to come home to my hometown and be a prosecutor which was a stroke of luck and really a wonderful thing for me."
Upon returning home he met and married Elizabeth Stackhouse, who is a nurse, and they now have 2-year-old twins.
After being hired, Stackhouse spent two years in district court, the last year as a DWI prosecutor.
He was promoted to superior court, where he handled low-level felonies. He was then assigned to handle sexual assault cases for a year. He currently exclusively handles high-level drug cases.
Judicial candidates are limited in what they can comment on, he said.
"I will not be a judge whose power goes to his head," he said. "Judge-itis is what they call it. I will be one who keeps his feet on the ground and understand that I am there to serve not to be served.
"As district judge I would follow the law. I would not be an activist judge. It is easy to do different in that courtroom because it is not a court of record, but lawyers expect and hope for predictability when it comes to the courtroom and that is what they would get with me. I would certainly uphold the law as written."