NC COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE, Seat 12
NOTE: You may vote for one. Candidates are presented below in the order they appear on your ballot.
Reason for my Endorsement: Constitutional Originalist versus Progressive Christian
Tom Murry (Republican)
https://www.facebook.com/JoinTomMurry
Murry has his law degree from Campbell University School of Law and is an adjunct professor at the Regent University School of Law. He was on the Morrisville Town Council before being elected to the NC House of Representatives in the Tea Party wave of 2010, where he served two terms. He has also worked as a prosecutor and as a Judge Advocate (JAG) with the Army National Guard. As a legislator, he was the primary sponsor of voter ID legislation and a regulatory reform bill.
Earlier in 2023, Murry had announced that he would be a candidate for Attorney General, but when Dan Bishop made his own announcement for that office, Murry pulled out and filed to run for the Court of Appeals instead.
As for his judicial philosophy, Murray says, “The plain words of our Constitution should serve as the primary guide when interpreting laws. I am a textualist and an originalist and believe in judicial restraint.”
In June, Murry reposted a Heritage Foundation post praising Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices in the history of these great United States.”
Carolyn Jennings Thompson (Democrat)
https://judgecarolynthompson.com/
Thompson is a graduate of Hampton University and NC Central University School of Law. Thompson previously ran for the Court of Appeals in 2022 for Seat 8, but lost the race. More recently, Thompson worked as a deputy commissioner in the N.C. Industrial Commission, which she was appointed to by Cooper after the 2022 election. Prior to her work on the commission, she worked for nine years as a judge in District 9 on both the district and superior court divisions. She has also had experience as a trial attorney.
She was appointed to the N.C. Court of Appeals by Gov. Roy Cooper in Sept. 2023 to replace Judge Allison Riggs, who was appointed to the N.C. Supreme Court.
Thompson she also serves as a mentor in the Granville County Teen Court, where teenagers who would normally face trial in court can be given a trial by peers instead of being criminalized. Thompson is an ordained minister and works with ministries to help women in domestic violence situations. Joy Forrest, the executive director of Called to Peace Ministries, said Thompson volunteers to teach survivors how to approach court cases involving domestic violence and to present their experiences in a way that will help their case:
“She’s one that sat and listened to get the whole picture first and then get her judgment,” Forrest said. “She didn’t just assume. That’s what really gets me is to watch judges on the bench start assuming things without listening. So she’s always been one to stop and listen to everything and to analyze it before just jumping in based on her presuppositions.”
Thompson said the work she does inside and outside of the court motivates her to make fair decisions and reminds her of her responsibility to help those around her.