news-record.com

Judge Lawrence McSwain's retirement at the end of the year will leave a hard-to-fill vacancy on the Guilford County District Court bench. Fortunately, two capable candidates are running for his seat.

Betty J. Brown, 58, and Charles L. "Chuck" White, 54, both have long and varied experience in the legal system. We recommend Brown in a close call.

She has worked her way up the courthouse steps, from being a legal secretary, to criminal and civil magistrate, to an attorney in the Public Defender's Office. She's garnered praise all along as someone who's fair, efficient and hard-working, often taking the initiative to get things done in new and better ways. She has more practice in criminal cases but could apply herself to learn the civil side just as well.

White, now an attorney in private practice, was a judge from 1992 to 1999 and was considered a good one. He was known for being respectful, perceptive, affable, versatile and impartial -- all the right qualities.

He made one wrong move, resigning in 1999 when he anticipated being appointed to the Superior Court bench by then-Gov. Jim Hunt. The job went to Lindsay Davis instead. White says he vacated his seat to give a replacement time to fit in well before the 2000 election. Letting go of a bird in hand for another flying out of reach was a miscalculation.

While that in no way diminishes White's qualifications to return to the bench now, it argues for giving Brown a chance this time. She would be a fine judge, and she's progressed steadily toward this opportunity. She'll be a worthy successor to Judge McSwain.