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Office you seek
Judge, NC Court of Appeals

Date of birth
November 13, 1950

Occupation
Judge, NC Court of Appeals

Address
5524 North Hills Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612

Web site/e-mail address
www.JudgeLinda.org
campaign@judgelinda.org 

Education
Woodruff High School, Woodruff, South Carolina, 1969, valedictorian; University of South Carolina, BA Journalism, magna cum laude, 1973; University of North Carolina School of Law, JD, 1979.

Elective experience
Appointed to the NC Court of Appeals, 2006.


Professional credentials (specialized training or experience)
Private practice of law, Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham, LLP, 1984-2006 (Associate 1984-1988, Partner 1989-2006)     

Deputy Commissioner, North Carolina Industrial Commission, 1980-1984

Law Clerk, North Carolina Court of Appeals, 1979-1980

President, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, 2001-2002

Chair, North Carolina State Bar Workers' Compensation Specialization Committee, 2003-2005

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Workers' Compensation Section, 1995-2006

North Carolina "Super" Lawyer Recognition, SuperLawyer Magazine, 2006 (Top 50 Female Lawyers)

2002 Recipient of Defense Research Institute's Fred H. Sievert Outstanding Defense Bar Leader Award

Life Member, National Registry of Who's Who

Family
Husband, Donald Stephens, four rescued dogs and many rescued cats; stepdaughter Laura, her husband, John, and their sons, Jack and Michael; stepdaughter Penny and her husband, David; stepson David, and his son, Brandon.

Why have you chosen to run for this office?
The opportunity to seek the initial appointment to my position presented itself to me as I was completing my twenty-sixth year as an attorney and after a successful legal practice representing private litigants.  The opportunity to play a larger role in the administration of criminal and civil justice and to help advance the jurisprudence of this State has been a chance of a lifetime.  Although representing private litigants can be rewarding, it does not compare to the professional pride and challenge I feel from my work as a judge of the Court of Appeals.  As a lawyer, I learned how important it is for appellate decisions to give clear and concise guidance on the law so that trial judge, lawyers, and clients could make rational decisions about their cases.  I feel an obligation to the people of this State to do all that I can to insure justice, fairness and equality in our court system.  I am absolutely committed to accomplishing that goal.

What about your training and experience most qualifies you for this position?
Having served as a judge on the Court of Appeals since 2006, I have actually done the work of the Court for a substantial enough period of time for my qualifications for the work to be evaluated.  As of this writing, I have authored opinions in nearly 200 cases, none of which have been overturned by our Supreme Court.  A recent Lawyers' Weekly article rated the top 50 cases of 2008, and eight of these were cases where I had written the opinion. 

In addition to quality of work, I believe it is appropriate to judge the qualifications of a judge or judicial candidate on the basis of his or her ability to be fair and impartial.  My candidacy has been endorsed by groups and individual former appellate judges from across the political and legal spectrum, which I think is a reflection on my ability to judge fairly.

What do you see as a particular strength of our court system?

By and large, we in North Carolina have a court system with quality judges, civil members of the bar, and a high level of professionalism.  Our lawyers, judges, and court staff are professional and truly strive to make the system work.  It is hard to quantify the benefit, but having these elements in place greatly enhances our ability to do effective and efficient justice. 

Where does it fall short?

Our court system suffers from a chronic lack of funding.  From personnel to technological advancement, the court system simply lacks sufficient resources to do all that needs to be done.  Likewise, there is a shortage of legal services available to the poor in our state who have civil matters before the courts.  While not a failing of the system per se, promoting access to the courts is a significant issue.   

What can be done to help the public better understand the role of our appellate courts?
I firmly believe, as Justice Louis Brandeis said, that "the most important role of government is citizen."  The foundation of a good public understanding of our system must start with solid civics education in our schools.    

Particularly in a state where we elect judges, many citizens believe that judges should make decisions based on the public will.  I support the efforts of groups like the NC Center for Voter Education, and others, to educate voters about the races in particular and our judicial system in general. 

The judges on my court make an effort to speak to groups whenever possible about the courts, and the role of the appellate courts.   

How can you make a distinct impact on the quality of decisions rendered by the court?
I work very hard on every case, and have extremely high standards for the quality of work that goes into the cases I hear.  My approach is to write thorough and concise opinions that not only explain the result to the parties, but that offer guidance in future cases. 

Beyond my own efforts, I also have an expertise in workers compensation law, and frequently provide feedback to other judges on the Court when they ask for input on a workers compensation issue.  I believe that I am the only judge on the Court of Appeals who had a significant workers compensation practice, and that area of the law is a significant and important part of the Court of Appeals' work.

To what extent should judges or judicial candidates express their views about political and social issues of the day?
Judges should not play politics with the law.  I disagree with the practice of expressing a "personal" view, and then disavowing any intent to rule in accordance with personal views.  That is simply pandering for votes, which is not only disingenuous, but also undermines the credibility of our system. 

Who would be the one current state or federal judge you most admire, and why?
We have a lot of fine judges in North Carolina.  They include my husband, who is Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for Wake County.  He has a lot of common sense and always keeps things in perspective.