Name as it appears on the ballot: Matt Van Sickle
Campaign website: www.mattvansickle.com
Phone number: 919-279-3908
Email: matt@mattvansickle.com Years lived in the district: 6 years, as of October 15, 2018
1. What do you believe are the three most important qualities a judge must have to be effective? Are there any particular judges, either on the state or federal level, who you believe exemplify these qualities?
A superior court judge must be fair and impartial, and must possess a judicial temperament. All parties and attorneys who appear before the judge should feel that the judge was respectful, attentive, and fair in presiding over the case. I have had the honor to appear before several judges in North Carolina who exemplify these qualities.
2. What do you believe qualifies you to serve as a judge?
I have the experience, impartiality, and temperament to serve the voters well as a superior court judge in Wake County. I have practiced law for fifteen years. In that time, I have had the privilege and honor of representing real, normal people and many small businesses in a variety of cases. My clients have had legal problems ranging from minor traffic tickets, to businesses involved in lawsuits over claims of more than $1,000,000. I have represented plaintiffs who are bringing a lawsuit and I have defended defendants in superior court. I have also served as an arbitrator. This experience has allowed to act in a judicial manner and hand out fair results according to the law. Finally, I am the only unaffiliated candidate in this race. I strongly believe in the independence of judges, and my status as an unaffiliated candidate demonstrates that I will remain nonpartisan as a judge.
3. In a sentence, how would you define your judicial philosophy?
I will fairly decide each case by treating each person with respect with all of the rights we all share without any consideration of a person’s gender, wealth, politics, race, age, orientation, religion or anything else.
4. How do you define yourself politically? How do your political beliefs affect your judicial approach?
I am unaffiliated with any political party and am not running for this position for political purposes. A superior court judge should remain nonpartisan. A superior court judge should never allow personal political beliefs to influence his or her decisions. I am pleased that my campaign has the support of other unaffiliated voters, Republicans, and Democrats. My pledge to the voters is to provide fair, impartial rulings that are not influenced by party designation of the litigants or their lawyers.
5. If you are challenging an incumbent, what decisions has the incumbent made that you most disagree with? If you are an incumbent, what in your record and experience do you believe merits another term?
I have nothing bad to say about my opponent, and wish for him nothing but the best. I also feel that voters should vote for me because I have the experience, impartiality, and temperament to serve the people of Wake County as a superior court judge.
6. On any given day, there are North Carolina resident in jail are not because they’ve been convicted of a crime but because they cannot afford their bail. How would you determine whether pretrial incarceration is appropriate? Do you support having a bail schedule with guidelines for how judges should make bail determinations? Why or why not?
I understand and feel deeply about the ongoing debate concerning long-term, pretrial incarceration. It has an negative impact on the community. I believe that there should be an alternative method for securing a defendant’s appearance at trial. As a superior court judge, I will be obligated to follow the laws on pretrial release, including the North Carolina General Statutes and any local recommendations issued by the senior resident superior court judges. If voters believe that bail reform is necessary, I share that concern, but the actual law must be addressed by the General Assembly. I commend the General Assembly’s recent efforts to modernize the criminal justice system in North Carolina through efforts such as the passage of the Raise the Age Initiative. I look forward to being able to apply a similar new, more modern law about bail if that is made law as well.
7. What changes to the cash bail system, if any, do you support? Why? If you don't support any changes, please explain why you think the current system is successful.
I understand that the cash bail system can adversely impact those of limited means, and this should be addressed. As a superior court judge, I will be obligated to follow the laws on bail, including the North Carolina General Statutes and any local recommendations issued by the senior resident superior court judges. If voters believe that bail reform is necessary, I share that concern, but the actual law must be addressed by the General Assembly. I look forward to being able to apply a similar new, more modern law about bail if that is made law as well.
8. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, black people in North Carolina are incarcerated at six times the rate of white people, despite the state being majority white. What responsibility do you think judges hold in addressing racial disparities in our criminal justice system, and what would you do to address these inequities?
Judges must ensure that their decisions are fair and based on the facts presented and law instead of any preconceptions of a case. I will base my decisions of the facts and law, without regard to a party’s gender, wealth, politics, race, age, orientation, religion or anything else. The decision on who is prosecuted rests with the District Attorney in North Carolina. I think that the potential to address racial disparities, which are glaringly obvious and not fair, rests with the elected official who decides who to prosecute or not.
9. In some cases, individuals who fail to appear in court for traffic violations are arrested and placed in jail, even if there is an arguable valid reason for the failure to appear. These arrests remain on the person’s record. Do you believe judges should ever overlook failures to appear for things like traffic violations? If so, in what circumstances? If not, why not?
When addressing a failure to appear the judge has discretion. If the voters elect me, I intend to use my common sense and consider whether there was a valid reason for a person missing a hearing. I would ensure that no arrest will remain on a person’s record unless there is a very good reason why that person deserves it. I would imagine that in most circumstances, the situation would not require me to do that.
10. Do you support restorative justice practices prior to sentencing? If so, please explain what sort of practices you support and in what types of cases? Who should be eligible?
I support restorative justice practices, so long as all of the interested parties, to include the victim, the offender, and the State all agree to the practices. The practices should provide ample input for the victim in order to ensure that their interests have been addressed, and where appropriate offer a mechanism for restitution and community service. The community benefits greatly when lower-level offenders, including juveniles, can go through a process that allows the offender to make restitution to the victim, avoid lengthy and costly incarceration, and remain a productive member of society. I intend to support and apply this whenever I have the opportunity.
11. How do you believe low-level drug cases should be handled?
As a judge, I must follow the law set out in the sentencing guidelines in the North Carolina General Statutes. I will consider the facts of each case, including the nature of the offense and history of the offender, and make sure that the sentence is appropriate for the offense. I agree with and support the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission’s position encouraging community-based programs for nonviolent offenders with little or no record. I intend to support and apply this whenever I have the opportunity.
12. In North Carolina, court fees have increased 400 percent over the past twenty years, and nonpayment may be punished with more fees, license revocation, or jail time. Do you believe the justice system in North Carolina criminalizes poverty? If not, please explain. If yes, what would you do as a judge to mitigate that?
This system is not fair to people of limited means and can quickly snowball out of control for them. We do not have debtors prisons in America, and we should not let that become the practical reality by bad policies. I believe that making criminal defendants pay increasing court costs and fees can quickly get out of control and become a separate form of “procedural crime” in and of itself. That is not right. The General Assembly should address the issue of court costs and greatly reduce this burden on criminal defendants. As a judge, I will consider ability to pay as one of the factors when determining appropriate sentences for each case.
