Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Judge Lewis presently serves the citizens of Mecklenburg County and the State of North Carolina in the capacity of District Court Judge.  Judge Lewis is an outstanding ambassador to the bench.  Judge Lewis is known nationally for his judicial demeanor. 

Judge Lewis holds people accountable for their actions, but allows opportunities for rehabilitation to those willing to work towards being responsible citizens. Judge Lewis has developed and held many innovative courts design to help defendants (both adult and juvenile) to rehabilitate themselves and become productive members of the community.  Some of these innovative courts are Teen Court, Youth Treatment Court, Adult Drug Court, Mental Health STEP Court and Truancy Court.  Descriptions of these courts can be found on Judge Lewis's website, www.judgehugh.com.

The District Court deals with everyday people's everyday problems. The people appearing in District Court need solutions, not adjudication. Having presided over numerous criminal, civil, small claims actions, mental health/ substance abuse hearings and Teen Court trials, I understand the needs of the people seeking the Court's help.

I believe that resolution of everyday problems enables people to move forward as productive citizens and reduces their need for additional litigation. I believe the court should help them learn to deal with the issues that created their problems. Traditional adjudication simply promotes additional litigation, as people come to demand that the higher authority hear their case and place blame on one of the parties.

Assisting people in resolving their own problems empowers them to take care of themselves. This empowerment reduces the tax dollars needed for each case and enables people to solve their own problems in the future. With fewer tax dollars spent on courts, we will have more money to spend on education and health care. A healthy, well-educated population does not need a Court system to handle its everyday problems.

Something of an optimist and idealist, I'd like to work myself out of a job! Practically speaking, of course, that will never happen. However, the above approach will allow use of precious court time on those cases that require resolution by traditional means.

I hope the citizens of Mecklenburg County will allow me to carry on this work in Superior court.