Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

My 27-year professional path to the Court was marked by hard work, passion, and determination.  I grew up in Woodruff, South Carolina, where my grandparents instilled in me the importance of education.  I've studied hard all my life, was the first in my family to graduate from high school, and, truly, education has been my ticket to accomplishing things and going places my family could not have imagined.  

I graduated from the University of South Carolina, magna cum laude, and received my JD from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1979.  I was the first female law clerk for the Honorable Fred Hedrick at the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1979-1980.  I went on to become a Deputy Commissioner for the North Carolina Industrial Commission, hearing and deciding workers' compensation cases from 1980-1984. In 1984, I joined Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham, LLP as the firm's first woman associate. I later became the first female Partner (later Senior Partner) with the firm. From 2001-2002, I served as the first woman President of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys.  In 2006, I was named one of the Top 50 women lawyers in North Carolina by Super Lawyers Magazine, and was listed in Best Lawyers in America for 11 years.

I joined the North Carolina Court of Appeals in February 2006.   

I have been married for 28 years, and spend much of my personal time caring for the dogs and cats that my husband and I have rescued over the years.  In addition to my professional activities, I have served on the boards of non-profit organizations such as the SPCA and Safe Haven for Cats. 

As a judge, my role is to administer justice one case at a time.  I am committed to working hard, approaching each case with an open mind, listening impartially, treating all parties with respect, applying the law as written, and judging fairly.

The values of hard work and fairness have guided my 29 years as a lawyer and judge.  I believe politics has no place in the courtroom.  In this nonpartisan race, my endorsements include former appellate judges from both major political parties, lawyer organizations that represent opposite sides in civil disputes, law enforcement, citizens' groups, state employees, and teachers.  I believe these endorsements indicate that I am fair and impartial in my application of the law. 

The Court of Appeals decides many issues that touch our daily lives in practical, visible ways.  But every issue we decide also impacts the quality of our democracy in a more subtle way -- simply because it is critical to upholding the equal application of the law.  When all is said and done, the very purpose of the Constitution and laws is to produce a society in which the law favors no one.  My goal as a judge -- always -- is to favor no one.  I am guided by the advice of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India:  "Wise judges never forget that the best way to sustain the dignity and status of their office is to deserve respect from the public at large by the quality of their judgments, the fearlessness, fairness and objectivity of their approach, and the restraint, dignity and decorum which they observe in their judicial conduct."

It is an honor to serve, and I pledge to continue to maintain the integrity of the office and to render my best judgment in the performance of my duties.