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Special Meeting April 8, 2021

Forum

Below, find a video recording of the candidate forum that was held on April 6, 2021:

 

Candidates

 

Voting

Process:

 

Notice

Judicial District 18 Bar Members,

As you are aware, District Court Judge Beverly Scarlett’s resignation will be effective March 31, 2021, her retirement will leave a vacancy until the end of her elected term. When there is a vacant seat on the District Court bench, the judicial district bar may nominate up to five names to submit to the governor for appointment to that seat. The governor may consider the nominations but is not bound to choose from them. Therefore, a special meeting will be held to nominate names to be submitted to the governor.

Pursuant to the by-laws for Judicial District 18:

A meeting for nominations will be held on Thursday, April 8, 2021, 4:00 PM.

In light of social distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the procedure for the meeting will be as follows:

1. NOMINATIONS: Persons who want to be considered to fill remainder of Judge Scarlett’s term shall notify the President in writing, via regular mail or, via email, five (5) days prior to the meeting at which the election will be conducted. Candidates MUST RESIDE in the district (Orange County OR Chatham County). To be considered please submit your name along with a statement and or resume (in .pdf format) to be published with the list of nominees on the District Bar website (18barnc.com – which will go live in 2 weeks) to Maggie Davis, JD 18 President, by MAIL: Post Office Box 490, Pittsboro, NC 27312 OR by EMAIL: 18barnc@gmail.com no later than NOON on April 3, 2021.

2. CANDIDATE PRESENTATION: By the afternoon of April 5, the District Bar website (18 barnc.com) will have a dedicated page with information submitted from each candidate to include each candidate’s response to questions submitted from Bar members. If you wish to submit a question to be included, please do so by March 31 via e-mail to 18barnc@gmail.com. Questions will then be curated and compiled by officers and submitted to candidates upon the close of nominations.

On April 6, 2020 at 5:45 PM, a Zoom webinar will be held from the Orange County Courthouse. Each candidate, or a speaker of their choice, will have an opportunity to make a brief presentation to the bar. Candidates and/or their chosen speaker will have a total of ten (10) minutes to introduce themselves to the bar. Candidates and/or their chosen speaker must be present at the Orange County Courthouse to participate. Only the candidates and/or the speaker of their choice will be allowed to attend the presentation in person. The order of presentation will be determined at random after nominations are closed on April 3, 2021. Members may watch the presentation streamed live over Zoom or may watch a replay of the presentation online at 18barnc.com any time before April 8, 2021. If a member does not have internet access or a device that can stream the presentation, an onsite viewing location will be made available for members to watch in a socially distanced fashion in a separate room at the Orange County Courthouse. If you require this option, please contact Maggie Davis, JD 18 President, by EMAIL: 18barnc@gmail.com or (919) 428-0438 no later than April 5, 2021.

3. BALLOT DISTRIBUTION: On April 7, 2021, ballots will be emailed to members via the listserv and posted on the website (18barnc.com). In order to vote, members MUST RESIDE in the district (Orange County OR Chatham County) and be present to cast their secret written ballot at the meeting. Members should print their ballots and complete them prior to the meeting.

4. MEETING LOGISTICS: On April 8, 2021, the meeting will be held in two locations simultaneously. Officers will be present at the Chatham County Courthouse and the Orange County Courthouse. The President will call the meeting to order at 4:00 PM at the Chatham County Justice Center (40 E. Chatham Street, Pittsboro, NC) and accept ballots from members from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at which point the meeting will be adjourned. Another Officer will be present at the Orange County Courthouse (106 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough) and accept ballots from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. No other business will be conducted at this meeting. Members will drive up to the front of the courthouse, sign a form indicating that they are a member of the bar in good standing and that they reside in Orange County or Chatham County, and deposit their pre-printed and pre-filled ballot into a box held by the officers. Members should NOT exit their cars and should not gather in or near the voting site. If members are unable to print a ballot at home, a limited number of paper ballots will be available on-site; however, members must bring their own pens with them to complete the ballot.

5. VOTING: Pursuant to the by-laws, Members may vote for five (5) candidates. Cumulative voting is prohibited – members may vote for up to five (5) candidates; however, they cannot attribute more than one vote to a single candidate. In the event that fewer than five persons are nominated, upon providing the nomination to the Governor, the bar shall certify that there were insufficient nominations in the district to comply with this section of N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 7A-142.

6. SUBMISSION TO GOVERNOR: The five candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be the nominees to fill the vacancy on the district court. Their names, and vote totals, shall be transmitted to the Governor. In the event of a tie for fifth place, the names of those candidates involved in the tie shall be transmitted to the Governor together with the names of the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes. Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. 7A-142, prior to filling the vacancy, the Governor shall give due consideration to the nominations provided by the bar of the judicial district.

Questions regarding this meeting should be directed to the 18 JD Officers: Maggie Davis, President, (maggie@mmandjlaw.com), Erin Haygood, Vice President, (erinh2@legalaidnc.org), or David Lambeth, Secretary/Treasurer (dlambeth@email.unc.edu).

Sincerely,

Maggie Davis

JD 18 President