Name as it appears on the ballot: Gray Styers

Age: 57

Party affiliation: Democratic

Campaign website: www.styersforjudge.com

Occupation & employer: lawyer, Fox Rothschild

1) Please tell us what in your record as a public official or private citizen demonstrates your ability to be effective, fair, and impartial on the bench? Please be specific. What do you believe qualifies you to serve as appellate court judge?

First, my knowledge of the law, my integrity, and my leadership abilities are reflected in my reputation in the legal community and my record of accomplishments. I was elected by my peers to serve as President of the Wake County Bar Association and 10th Judicial District Bar Association. Presidents of the North Carolina State Bar appointed me to serve as a member of the State Bar’s Ethics Committee. At the request of the dean of the UNC School of Law, I taught Professional Responsibility/Legal Ethics as an adjunct professor at the law school. I have served on the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association. Every year, I teach continuing legal education classes (two weeks ago, at a meeting of the American Bar Association). I founded and managed my own law firm, merged it into a much larger firm, and now serve as the co-chair of two different law practice groups for one of the largest firms in the country. Second, my commitment to working to improve our community and the state can be seen in my volunteer work: as immediate past chair of the NC Museum of History Associates, serving currently on the Boards of the NC Symphony Society and the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, previously serving on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, working as a frequent volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and at the Wake County Men’s Homeless Shelter, etc., in addition to my work for the legal profession mentioned above. One of the recognitions I am most proud to have received is the “Citizen’s Lawyer” award by the NC Bar Association. Third, the wide range of areas of law in which I have practiced, and the fact that I have represented clients in cases in every part of North Carolina, provide me with the breadth of experience and context to understand the issues in the cases that come before the court, the applicable law, and the practical consequences of the court’s decisions. I have tried many cases to verdict and have participated in many appeals to our appellate courts, including filing an amicus brief in the NC Supreme Court in the Leandro case. I have been a certified mediator of Superior Court cases for over fifteen years. From the beginning of my career, working as a law clerk for Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, I have understood that fair, impartial judges are essential to the administration of justice, the protection of our Constitutional rights, and the public’s trust and confidence in our court system.

2) How do you define yourself politically? How does that impact your judicial approach?

I am proud to have been a Democrat since I first registered to vote, and I worked on former Gov. Jim Hunt’s campaigns in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But, as I have said as a Bar Association president, taught my students as a professor, and repeated consistently as a candidate, I believe judges should not be beholden to any special interest or ideology and that partisan politics has no role in our court system. I believe one source of the declining public confidence in our courts is the perception that judges are simply politicians in robes. As a judge, I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented and will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability – I promise nothing more, and absolutely nothing less.

3) What do you believe are the three most important qualities a judge must have to be an effective jurist? Which judges, past or present, do you most admire? Why?

First and foremost, as your other questions imply, and as my other answers emphasize, a judge must be fair and impartial – deciding cases based on the rule of law, and not on the identity, traits or status of the parties before the court. Second, a judge should be open-minded – not pre-judging the case before considering the facts, hearing the arguments of all sides, and carefully applying the law. Third, an appellate judge should have the intellect, the analytical skills, and the writing ability to write clear, cogent decisions that address the issues in dispute and provide guidance as to the state of the law. Certainly, first on my list – because he was the judge who taught and mentored me – is Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin, III, and – because of my relationship with the Ervin family – I have studied in depth and admire greatly Sen. Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (who served as a Justice on the NC Supreme Court before being elected to the U.S. Senate) for his knowledge of and respect for the Constitution. Judge Learned Hand, although never on the US Supreme Court, possessed a keen intellect and understanding of judicial decision-making that I greatly admire.

Justice John Paul Stevens had a pragmatic view of the law, as seen in his dissent in the Citizens United case, which I very much respect. Finally, former Chief Justice James Exum, who has endorsed my candidacy, provided leadership to the court and its protection of individual rights under our state Constitution.

4) In a sentence, how would you define your judicial philosophy?

The court’s decisions, in the words of Judge Ervin, “are not about abstract legal theories, but about real people, with real problems, and our decisions have real consequences that should not be ignored.”

5) Do you favor or oppose public financing of judicial elections? What changes to North Carolina’s system of judicial elections do you believe are necessary, if any?

I am strongly in favor of public financing. I served as the campaign treasurer for both Justice Sam J. (Jimmy) Ervin, IV and Judge Robert C. Hunter when we had public financing, so I am very familiar with that system. It wasn’t perfect, but was a better system than the fundraising that judicial candidates are required to do today. Believing that partisan labels are irrelevant to a candidate’s qualifications, inconsistent with the work that judges generally do, and injurious to the public trust and confidence in the courts, as discussed in an earlier answer, I personally believe judicial elections should be nonpartisan, but it is the General Assembly’s prerogative to establish the process for judicial elections.

6) In many cases, voters know very little about the judges they are electing. Tell us something about yourself that our readers may be surprised to learn.

Even as a young child, I spent every Friday night in the fall going to high school football games with my father, who was a high school teacher and principal. Growing up in a small southern town (Hickory), there wasn’t much else to do. Then, when my own son played football in high school (on the same team as Judge Reuben Young’s son), I found myself spending Friday nights again watching high school football games, but this time from the press box, as the play-by-play announcer for all of the home games at Enloe High School here in Raleigh. For six years – three when my son played football and then three when my daughter was in the marching band – I enjoyed being the “Voice of the Eagles,” getting to know the players and their families, and re-living the Friday-Night-Lights experience of high school football. Your readers might also be surprised to learn that I have been active in the Moravian Church, my wife is an ordained Presbyterian minister, and our daughter is an approved candidate for future ordination in the United Methodist Church. We’re trying to cover all the bases!

Comment on this questionnaire at [email protected]. 

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