Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I was born in 1957 as the son of Wilmington natives.  My father was a Navy and then Air Force pilot, which took me through schools in Wilmington, Florida, Germany and Virginia.  I enrolled at Davidson College at the age of 16 and graduated in 1978 with honors.  I then attended UNC-Chapel Hill and was awarded my law degree and MBA in 1982.  I returned home to Wilmington, NC to practice law.  First as an associate with Algernon L. Butler, Jr., then partnered with Alex Hall in a firm named Hall & Washburn, then venturing out into a solo practice after ten years.  My practice has taken me through criminal courts, civil trials, domestic disputes, and a smattering of corporate and bankruptcy work.  Eventually I found my way into an intensive real estate practice.  

My father, Benjamin Mills Washburn III, was the son of Wilmington natives. He graduated from Davidson College in 1943 and joined the Navy.  My mother, Veritas Sanders Washburn, was also the daughter of Wilmington natives.  The Sanders later retired to Cowan Street in downtown Burgaw, NC.

My older brother, Benjamin Mills Washburn IV (UNC-Chapel Hill 1979) is a retired Air Force major, now living in Maryland and employed as a civilian in negotiating military contracts. My younger brother, Michael Warren Washburn (Davidson 1985, Campbell Law 1993), is married to Jeanne Hill Washburn.  Michael and his wife Jenny are both practicing law in Raleigh, NC.

I was married in 1989 to Margaret Williams.  We divorced in 1999.  We have two daughters.  The oldest is Julia Burnett Washburn, presently a junior at NC State and a member of Sigma Kappa sorority.  Our younger daughter, Cameron Worth Washburn, is a freshman at Wingate University, busy with her new college academics and the varsity swim team.

A District Court Judge will personally interact with more legal participants than judges at any other level, just based on sheer volume of cases handled. From routine traffic offenses to complex business interactions to emotionally charged divorce and child custody issues, a District Court Judge needs to have a wide array of skills, knowledge and experience.  After practicing law for over 28 years, I have accumulated the longest private practice background of any District Court Judge currently serving on our local bench. Unlike many attorneys who quickly specialize in one focus area, I began my career with a decade of widely ranging legal matters.  My background includes a diverse assortment of criminal defense, civil suits and business negotiations.  
 
As a recovering alcoholic, I have direct involvement with local inmates.  For the past 8 years I have organized and sponsored a weekly meeting inside the walls to address their underlying substance abuse issues.  28 years of legal work and 8 years of meeting with inmates personally shows me that the traditional pattern of offense, incarceration, re-offense, longer incarceration, is not effective.   

It is my goal to create various release options that require the offender to become productive and useful, while still under court jurisdiction. These programs are intended to be habit changing and in some cases will demand new ways of living which have previously not been undertaken.  Our society is already paying for failed life habits.  My objective is to reduce the cost to society by directing resources to changing behaviors rather than simply warehousing criminals.