North Carolina
How to judge a judge: A guide for North Carolina voters
In the event you don’t know who to vote for in North Carolina’s coming judicial elections, ask a lawyer, a clerk, a bailiff — anybody who works with judges day in, time out.
They know who the great judges are, they usually’re used to being requested.
That was the clear, although not unanimous, consensus when WRAL Information requested legal professionals, judges and retired judges, with a collective 250 years authorized expertise, how individuals ought to go about researching judicial candidates and deciding who to vote for.
“The legal professionals need good judges,” stated retired Chief District Courtroom Decide Robert Rader, Wake County’s longest-serving district court docket choose. “They’re often fairly sincere in who they’d vote for.”
There are additionally 4 contested races for the state Courtroom of Appeals, a center step between the decrease courts and the state Supreme Courtroom.
However a lot of the judicial races on the poll this yr are on the superior and district court docket ranges. These are the courts that deal with misdemeanor instances and felonies, in addition to most civil fits.
These are all partisan races. With the doable exception of Supreme Courtroom races, they’re typically low-information affairs.
“I think about a whole lot of votes are solid the place they’re simply taking a guess,” stated Lee Turner, a former Raleigh police officer-turned-attorney.
Boards, guides and Google
The North Carolina State Board of Elections publishes a voter information the place appellate court docket candidates get to make their case. The information doesn’t cowl superior and district court docket candidates, solely the appellate courts.
The information can be mailed to each family in North Carolina, however just isn’t anticipated to go surfing.
Candidates typically have web sites, however skilled judges and attorneys instructed WRAL Information that biographies and place statements solely let you know a lot. Wake County Superior Courtroom Decide Paul Ridgeway, who’s unopposed for reelection this yr, stated guides have a tendency to color a monochrome image of the candidates.
“We’re all diligent, skilled, sincere,” Ridgeway stated. “My sense is that simply going to the marketing campaign web page or the voter guides doesn’t provide you with a substantial amount of perception.”
But when judges take part in boards and take the time to fill out voter information questionnaires, in the event that they reply questions “fastidiously and purposefully,” that’s an excellent signal, Wake County Public Defender Deonte’ Thomas stated.
In the event you’re notably motivated, you possibly can learn judicial opinions, Ridgeway stated. Simply Googling a choose and studying information protection of how they dealt with a excessive profile case — their temperament and demeanor — might help, he stated.
Look additionally to endorsements, retired Superior Courtroom Decide Carl Fox stated. If doable, go sit in a choose’s courtroom for an hour.
“Probably the greatest issues is: Is the choose an excellent listener?” Fox stated.
To place all of it one other approach: Don’t simply belief a résumé.
“They could not have the life experiences,” Turner stated. “The flexibility to learn individuals. There’s loads that goes into being a choose that’s not essentially based mostly in your schooling.”
Social gathering labels and race
Legal professionals warn voters: Don’t simply look to occasion labels, notably within the decrease court docket races.
“States judges are the final line of protection to guard civil rights and private autonomy,” stated Daybreak Blagrove, an legal professional and govt director of Emancipate NC, a felony justice reform group.
“I’d strongly discourage anybody from voting occasion line for a lot of causes, a very powerful being that knowledgeable voters elect individuals based mostly on points, not occasion affiliation,” Blagrove stated.
Thomas, whose instances come earlier than district and superior court docket judges, echoed that.
“I’ve been in entrance of stereotypically ‘conservative’ judges which are a pleasure to attempt a case in entrance of and are honest and never ‘robust on crime,’ the Wake public defender stated. “And I’ve been in entrance of ‘progressive’ judges that may throw the e-book at my purchasers.”
Race must be an element, in keeping with Randy Griffin, a protection legal professional in Durham.
“I see much more Black and brown individuals dealing with expenses after I’m in a courtroom than I see legal professionals and judges and cops,” he stated.
The North Carolina Bar Affiliation used to grade judges based mostly on surveys of training attorneys, gauging judges’ data of the legislation, integrity, communication abilities, temperament and administrative functionality. The outcomes had been printed on-line, however the affiliation stopped 4 years in the past, Bar Affiliation President Clayton Morgan stated, as a result of so few individuals visited the web site.
Now Morgan recommends individuals take note of judicial candidate boards. It’s “harmful” to belief a single legal professional’s opinion, he stated.
“We’re it by our explicit lens,” stated Morgan, affiliate normal counsel for Duke Power.
Partisan elections much less widespread
Partisan elections are much less widespread. Eleven states, together with North Carolina, use occasion labels in trial courts, in keeping with the middle. Solely eight use partisan elections to choose excessive court docket judges.
The general public funding was eradicated in 2013, after Republicans took management of the Common Meeting following a long time of principally Democratic Social gathering management.
Now the statewide elections are extremely partisan, costly affairs. The 2020 Supreme Courtroom race between then Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, and present Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican, producing tens of millions of {dollars} in promoting. Newby gained by 401 votes.
Griffin, the Durham protection legal professional, stated the very first thing he asks a shopper who complains a couple of choose, or a district legal professional for that matter, is whether or not they voted within the final election.
“Be sure you’re a part of the method,” Griffin stated. “In the event you’re not voting, why would an elected official care what your opinion is?”
North Carolina
Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team
Duke hasn’t played pretty football at times, but the Blue Devils have consistently proven to be the top team in North Carolina.
After beating UNC (6-5, 3-4) and N.C. State (5-6, 2-5) earlier this year, Duke (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will go for the Tobacco Road sweep in the regular-season finale at Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) on Nov. 30 (Noon, ACC Network).
Because of their consistently dominant defense and the ability to handle in-game adversity, the Blue Devils are in position to win double-digit games for just the second time in program history.
That’s quite a debut for first-year coach Manny Diaz, who has helped the Blue Devils win five of their six one-score games this season, including a 31-28 victory against Virginia Tech on Saturday in the home finale at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke report card vs Virginia Tech
Here’s what and who stood out on senior night in Duke’s eighth win of the 2024 college football season.
Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol caps comeback with special finale at Wallace Wade Stadium
Eli Pancol, Duke’s sixth-year wide receiver who missed the 2023 season with an injury, capped his comeback with an incredible performance in the final home game of his career.
Eli Pancol’s incredible comeback story
Finishing with five catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, Pancol did most of that damage on two of the first four plays when he had an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a 77-yard catch-and-run TD. In his final two games at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pancol combined for 16 catches for 326 yards and four touchdowns.
Ozzie Nicholas, Cam Bergeron, Kendy Charles shine for Duke football defense
Pancol wasn’t the only senior to shine Saturday night against the Hokies. Duke’s top three tacklers were seniors, combining for 31 tackles, including three for loss. Princeton graduate transfer Ozzie Nicholas, Duke’s leading tackler, led the way again with 11 tackles. Fellow linebacker Cam Bergeron and defensive tackle Kendy Charles each had 10 tackles.
Overall, Duke had 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. The Blue Devils have consistently been among the top five teams in the nation at creating havoc for offenses as a steady presence in the backfield. It’s the main reason Duke is in position to reach 10 wins this season.
Manny Diaz keeps proving he was right hire for Blue Devils
Duke has won 10 games once since 1922, getting it done in 2013 under former coach David Cutcliffe, who helped resurrect a struggling program. Following Cutcliffe’s departure, Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and eight in his second before bolting to Texas A&M.
After a successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Penn State, Diaz got a second head-coaching opportunity when Duke hired him in December 2023. In three seasons as the head coach at Miami, Diaz had one year with eight wins. He accomplished that in his debut year at Duke, putting the program in position to join an exclusive club if the Devils can win their final two games.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
North Carolina
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops
No. 16 North Carolina and MAC favorite Ball State face-off in the Bahamas for a special one to kick off two weeks full of holiday college basketball tournaments coming live to FloHoops. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 23 and is the second of many in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball tournament.
The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament hosts eight teams including No. 18 Baylor, Indiana, and Texas A&M.
No. 16 North Carolina is 3-1, coming off of a close loss a week ago to No. 2 UConn, falling 58-69 to the Huskies. They hold wins this season against NC A&T, UNC-Wilmington, and Charleston Southern.
Currently undefeated, Ball State will be hoping to upset North Carolina to add an important win to their resume en route to a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. They have defeated Northern Iowa, IUPUI, Memphis, and Old Dominion so far this season.
Read the live updates, watch highlights and view scores after the game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina Score At Battle 4 Atlantis
Refresh the page for live updates, highlights and scores from today’s game in the Bahamas. Tip off is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
While You Wait…LIVE NOW: Watch Columbia vs Indiana
Click here to tune in live to more women’s college basketball live on FloHoops.
we’ve got a 3️⃣ point game y’all 👏@CULionsWBB | #Battle4Atlantis | @B4AOfficial pic.twitter.com/9Rg0GzJtl6
— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) November 23, 2024
Earlier Today On FloHoops: Baylor Puts Up 15 Threes, Hits Triple Digits vs Southern Miss
After four great quarters of basketball between Southern Miss and Baylor—the Lady Bears come out on top of game one of the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s tournament.
Five Baylor players had more than 14 points today against the Lady Eagles and were 44% (15-34) from behind the three-point line, making that the most threes for them this season. Fontleroy and Andrews both tallied four.
For Southern Miss, Grayson and Evans led the points with 12, despite Grayson fouling out.
Despite their quick start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with Baylor and will be looking for redemption against the loser of Columbia vs Indiana. Baylor will play the winner.
Read the full game recap.
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Tournament Schedule
Saturday, November 23
Sunday, November 24
Monday, November 25
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Bracket
Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Teams
How To Watch The Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Tournament
Every game except the championship of the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.
Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
How To Watch College Basketball On The FloSports Network
Basketball games are streaming all year long on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app. Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
Watch NCAA Women’s Basketball On FloHoops
The NCAA Women’s Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
The BIG EAST Digital Network is also on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
FloHoops Archived Footage
Video footage from all events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloHoops subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.
Join the College Basketball Conversation on FloHoops Social
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina A&T State University is now offering a bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence.
It is a milestone for the university to be the first in our state and one of only a handful in the nation to offer this program.
In the program, students can pick one of two concentrations: Advanced AI Systems through the College of Engineering and Applied AI in the College of Science and Technology. Courses are available both in-person and online.
Some schools already offer a concentration in artificial intelligence, but A&T will be offering a full program dedicated to AI. The university said there are talks to develop a graduate studies program in AI.
School officials report that AI jobs are increasing in North Carolina, which will help in workforce development. According to a recent Hanover Research report, North Carolina is projected to grow at a pace over three times faster than the overall labor market, potentially generating more than 20,000 new jobs.
“Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are increasingly part of everyday life with the potential for profound and far-reaching impact on virtually every facet of society,” Chancellor James R. Martin II said in a news release. “Collaborating with federal and state agencies, major industry leaders and fellow research universities, we have created a rich AI learning environment that is well informed by the latest in science and policy. Our new bachelor’s degree will prepare students for immediate impact, especially in the critical area of human interaction with AI.”
They anticipate enrolling their first group next fall.
SEE ALSO | James Martin II announced as new chancellor for NC A&T after UNC BOG unanimous vote
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