Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I was born in 1953. My dad taught English at Cornell before we moved to Chapel Hill in 1965. Art was my mom's passion and she was a full time artist.

After starting college I volunteered for the Army in 1974 and did two years in Germany. I came back to UNC on the GI Bill where I got my BA in 1978, my MA in German in 1981, and my law degree in 1983.

My first legal job was as a staff attorney at the Court of Appeals, doing legal research and writing North Carolina law. There was time for romance -- I met my wife Maria Mangano there in 1984 and we married the following summer.

I joined the Gulley, Eakes firm in Durham in 1986. We bought a house in Duke Park. Our son was born in 1987 and our daughter in 1988.

Those early years of marriage were wonderful but tough, with two small kids and two working parents. Maria worked three days a week and I worked four. It was a career sacrifice for us, but one we would both make again.

I started with criminal and family practice and branched into workers compensation and injury suits. I have investigated and taken on a wide variety of cases over the years. It has been a great source of pride to me to help people who would be without legal help.

Maria is a devout Catholic and for the first decade of our marriage we went to Mass every week. Our children went to Catholic school and were raised in the faith. In 1991 I began attending Quaker meeting and am now a member and Sunday School teacher.

My life has indeed been blessed, with health, love of family and children, and meaningful work.

Having been engaged in active trial practice in Durham since 1986, I am the only candidate who has both extensive and continuous experience in both civil and criminal Superior Court for almost 25 years.  I have personally tried approximately 100 cases, both criminal and civil, before juries, plus many hundreds of non-jury matters.

In addition to presiding over trials, a Superior Court Judge has a significant academic function in researching and interpreting law.  I also have extensive experience in this area, starting as a staff attorney for the North Carolina Court of Appeals where researching and writing North Carolina law was all I did.  I have since researched and written approximately 75 appeal briefs, both civil and criminal.

In my general practice I have handled all sorts of matters, including traffic tickets, family law, wills, workers compensation, personal injury and Social Security, and real estate.  This wide experience gives me the ability to respond efficiently to new matters and a good understanding of the practical effects of my judging on the lawyers and clients who will appear before me.

In addition to my legal experience, I have an extensive record of service to the Durham community, including serving as president of the Duke Park Neighborhood Association the past four years, Sunday School teacher for over ten years, and ministry leader at Durham Quaker meeting.  My wife and I have been counseling engaged couples for the Catholic Church for almost two decades.  I am a 15 gallon blood donor and served in the United States Army from 1974 to 1976.  I have been a devoted husband for almost 25 years and a devoted father to our children.  It would be an honor to continue to serve as judge.

Quakers listen patiently and decide fairly and firmly on what is right. That will be my guide.