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Who wants to be a judge?

Quite a mob of folks.

Well, 14, to be exact.

Fourteen Guilford County attorneys are vying to replace Patrice Hinnant as a District Court judge.

Hinnant was appointed last month to fill the Superior Court vacancy created by the retirement of Henry Frye Jr.

The governor in turn will name someone to replace Hinnant. But she'll have to choose from among three candidates submitted by the Guilford County Bar.

The Bar meets at 4 this afternoon in the Old County Courthouse to select those three.

The 14 contenders are:

Lonnie G. Albright III, a Greensboro atttorney in private practice. Law degree: N.C. Central 1986.

Jeffrey S. Berman, Greensboro, private practice, Toledo College of Law 1987.

Cyrus J. Brown, Greensboro, assistant district attorney, Thomas M. Cooley Law School 2001.

William B. Davis, Greensboro, assistant public defender, Duke 1998.

Margaret A. Dudley, Greensboro, private practice, Howard 1974.

Linda L. Falls, Greensboro, assistant district attorney, N.C. Central 1987.

Lisa Johnson-Tonkins, Greensboro, assistant district attorney, N.C. Central 2003.

Angela F. Liverman, Greensboro, deputy county attorney, Wake Forest 1991.

Moshera Mills, Greensboro, private practice, N.C. Central 2001.

Mary Katherine Nicholson, Greensboro, private practice, Wake Forest 1976.

Susan Yu O'Hale, Greensboro, assistant district attorney, Campbell 1991.

Jan H. Samet, High Point, private practice, North Carolina 1973.

Joyce L. Terres, High Point, private practice, Wake Forest 1990.

Michael K. Troutman, Greensboro, assistant public defender, N.C. Central 1993.

This should be an interesting Bar meeting. The field is varied in age and experience. I like the fact that there are several veteran attorneys interested in serving as a District Court judge.

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Posted by Doug Clark on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 2:04 pm

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Doug

October 27, 2009 - 5:59 pm EDT

I know everyone's waiting for the outcome, so I'm sorry to disappoint.

I attended the meeting, listened to the presentations of all the candidates, but had to get back to the office before the voting could be tallied.

Interest within the Bar was very high, judging by the strong turnout. The commissioners meeting room was full of lawyers. Lots of judges attended -- even Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds of Greensboro.

Candidates were allowed to have someone speak on their behalf as well as say a few words for themselves. Total time was three minutes, strictly enforced. That kept things moving at a good pace.

Some candidates had distinguished attorneys stand up for them:

Retired District Court Judge Lawrence McSwain for Susan O'Hale ...

Former U.S. Attorney Ken McAllister for Jan Samet ...

Former District Attorney Jim Kimel for Bill Davis ...

Former County Attorney Jonathan Maxwell for Angela Liverman ...

Veteran attorney Romallus Murphy for Lisa Johnson-Tonkins ...

Veteran attorney Steve Crihfield for Lonnie Albright ...

... to name a few.

It was good to hear from so many candidates (although where were most of them when so many incumbent judges were running for re-election last year without opposition?) and to see how seriously the Bar regards the business of seating good judges.

I'll check on the results tomorrow. Look for it here.

Spag

October 27, 2009 - 8:30 pm EDT

The top vote getters were Jan Samet, Michael Troutman, and Susan Yu O'Hale. All are good candidates for the job. I cast my vote for Samet because I believe he has the most experience and the right temperament. But there were a number of candidates who would do fine.