One justice of the seven-member

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

and five judges of the 15-member

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

were elected by

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

voters on November 8, 2016, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. Elections for seats on both courts were technically nonpartisan, but under a bill passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory in 2015
House Bill 8
the party affiliations of Court of Appeals candidates were printed on the ballot. Court of Appeals candidates of all party affiliations would still run in one primary under the law, while the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, would advance to the general election. Primary elections would have been held on March 15, 2016, for seats with more than two candidates, but in the end, only two candidates filed for each Court of Appeals seat.

Supreme Court (Edmunds seat)

The seat held by Robert H. Edmunds Jr. was on the 2016 ballot. Under current state law, Edmunds would have to relinquish his seat in 2021 if he was re-elected in 2016, because he would reach mandatory retirement age. A 2015 change in state law was set to make Edmunds the first sitting justice who had the option of running in a

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...

rather than running against other candidates. Edmunds chose that option, which would have meant that the state's voters would only be able to vote "for" or "against" Edmunds in the November election. If a majority of voters voted "against," the Governor would appoint a new justice to serve until the next general election. Critics cast this as an attempt by Republicans in the legislature to maintain the 4-3 Republican majority on the Court. Edmunds is a Republican, as is the current governor, who would appoint any replacement. Attorne
Sabra Faires
and two voters filed a lawsuit, claiming the new election method violated the

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

and was not an election at all, but a referendum. Faires said she wanted to run for the seat. A three-judge panel found in favor of Faires and the two voters, and the State Board of Elections established a new candidate filing period of March 16–25. If more than two candidates filed for the seat, there would be a primary election on June 7. Edmunds and Faires both filed to run for the seat on March 16. Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael R. Morgan then filed on March 21, and was joined later by attorne
Daniel Robertson
setting up a primary. The state Supreme Court later split 3-3 (with Edmunds recusing himself) on the constitutionality of the retention election, leaving the lower court ruling intact. Morgan defeated Edmunds in the general election, garnering more than 54 percent of the vote.NC State Board of Elections Nov. 8 judicial election results
/ref> Morgan's victory gave the Supreme Court a Democratic majority for the first time since the 1998 elections.

Primary election

Candidates

* Robert H. Edmunds Jr. (Republican), incumbent Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina *Sabra Jean Faires (Unaffiliated), former assistant North Carolina Secretary of Revenue * Michael R. Morgan (Democratic),

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

superior court judge *Dan Robertson (Republican), former general counsel for the Bank of Carolinas

Results

General election

Polling

Results

Court of Appeals (Dietz seat)

The seat held by Richard Dietz, who was appointed to the Court in 2014, was on the 2016 ballot.

General election

Candidates

* Richard Dietz (Republican), incumbent Judge *Vince Rozier (Democratic),

district court judge

Results

Court of Appeals (Geer seat)

Judge Martha Geer announced on March 16, 2016, that she would resign to return to private practice. Consequently, the seat was on the November 2016 ballot. Because of the timing of Geer's resignation, there would be no primary election. In the interim, Gov. Pat McCrory appointed Chief District Court Judge Wendy Enochs to fill the seat.
Hunter Murphy
a Republican who ran for a Court of Appeals seat in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, declared his candidacy on March 17, 2016. Murphy is a trial attorney in Waynesville and was endorsed by retired North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert (Bob) Orr, the North Carolina Troopers Association and the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. Wake County District Court Judg
Margaret Eagles
a Democrat, was also a candidate for the seat, and was endorsed by Judge Geer, former Chief Justice

Burley Mitchell Burley Bayard Mitchell Jr. (born December 15, 1940) is an American jurist and former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He received his bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and his J.D. degree from the Universit ...

, and the NC Police Benevolent Association. Forsyth County-based attorne
Donald R. Buie
not affiliated with any party, was also a candidate for this seat.

General election

Candidates

*Donald R. Buie (Unaffiliated) *Margaret Eagles (Democratic),

district court judge *Hunter Murphy (Republican), trial attorney

Results

Court of Appeals (Hunter seat)

The seat held by

Robert N. Hunter Jr. Robert Neal "Bob" Hunter, Jr. (born March 30, 1947) is a North Carolina lawyer and retired jurist formerly serving on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and on the North Carolina Supreme Court. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at ...

was on the 2016 ballot. Under current state law, Hunter would have to relinquish his seat in 2019 if he was re-elected in 2016, because he will reach mandatory retirement age.

General election

Candidates

* Abraham Jones (Democratic),

superior court judge tp://alt.ncsbe.gov/Candidate_Filing/Candidate_Listing_20160315.pdf Candidate List from NC State Board of Elections/ref> *

(Republican), incumbent Judge

Results

Court of Appeals (Stephens seat)

The seat held by

Linda Stephens Linda Stephens is an American lawyer who formerly served as an associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She was first appointed to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Mike Easley (D-NC) in January 2006 and lost her seat in the general ele ...

was on the 2016 ballot. A Democrat, she ran for re-election, and was endorsed by former Chief Judges of the Court of Appeals John C. Martin,

Sidney S. Eagles Jr. Sidney S. "Sid" Eagles Jr. served as a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1983 until January 2004. At the time of his retirement, Eagles was serving as Chief Judge of that court. Before his judicial service, Eagles worked as counse ...

, and Gerald Arnold. Under current state law, Stephens would have to relinquish her seat in 2022 if she was re-elected in 2016, because she will reach mandatory retirement age.

General election

Candidates

* Phil Berger Jr. (Republican), Rockingham County district attorney *

(Democratic), incumbent Judge

Results

Court of Appeals (Zachary seat)

The seat held by

Valerie Zachary Valerie Johnson Zachary (born 1962) is a North Carolina attorney who is currently a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Zachary is a Harvard Law School graduate. She practiced law in Yadkinville, North Carolina for many years in a firm ...

was on the 2016 ballot. She was appointed to the seat in 2015 to replace retiring Judge Sanford Steelman. Zachary, a Republican, ran for a full term.

General election

Candidates

*Rickye McKoy-Mitchell (Democratic), Mecklenburg County district court judge *

(Republican), incumbent Judge

Results

References

External links

2016 Judicial Voting Guide from NC State Board of Elections
{{North Carolina judicial elections

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

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