NC COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE, Seat 15
NOTE: You may vote for one. Candidates are presented below in the order they appear on your ballot.
Reason for my Endorsement: Moore kicks it out of the park in the debate video below.
Chris Freeman (Republican)
https://chrisfreemanforjudge.com/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Judge-Chris-Freeman-for-NC-Court-of-Appeals/100066717859314/
For the last 17 years, Freeman has been both an Assistant District Attorney and District Court judge for Caswell and Rockingham counties. He’s a graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University school of law, and he did service in the U.S. Air Force and is currently a reservist for the JAG corps. He brags on his website that he has taken Regent University’s motto as his own personal credo: “Christian leadership to change the world.”
In the 2024 March primary, Freeman beat fellow Republican and incumbent Appeals Court Judge Hunter Murphy who had stirred controversy when he stuck this extraneous opinion into a decision regarding parental rights, “life begins at conception.” The ruling had no bearing whatsoever on abortion rights. Murphy had also been censured by the NC Supreme Court for enabling a “toxic work environment” in his chamber, in a disciplinary order reaffirming the Judicial Standards Commission recommendation.
Freeman is himself proud, however, to campaign under the banner of “conservative” and embraces the entire Republican ticket including Trump, Mark Robinson, Michele Morrow, and Dan Bishop. And he is endorsed by NC Values Coalition, whose mission is “To be a powerful positive ambassador of Jesus Christ that creates a culture in North Carolina where human life is valued, marriage & families flourish, and religious freedom thrives.”
The Coalition is actively engaged in fighting against Critical Race Theory,“ “the current culture of death: Planned Parenthood,” and removal of “vulgar or obscene books from the classroom.”
Martin E. Moore (Democrat)
https://www.martinforjudge.com/meet-martin
https://www.facebook.com/Moore4Judge?checkpoint_src=any
Moore is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and the UNC School of Law. He began his career as a public defender. In 2022, Moore ran for the Buncombe County Commission against a Republican incumbent who was also a NASCAR Hall of Famer and beat him with 55% of the vote.
Moore is pro-choice, pro environment, and pro Union.Moore earned endorsements from N.C. Supreme Court Justices Anita Earls and Allison Riggs. Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller and Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara also endorsed Moore. If Moore wins this race, he will be the only judge on the Court of Appeals from Western North Carolina.
“The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in this state have only become whiter and less diverse,” state senator Julie Mayfield told the Citizen Times while endorsing Moore. “Continuing to have racial diversity on the courts matters a lot. That brings different views, different experiences. It makes the bench stronger.”
Moore says his top priority if elected would be to assure equal justice for all. He believes justices should commit to keeping an open mind and focus on integrity and transparency: “Inevitably, when a case puts the Constitution in conflict with unconstitutional extremism, there will be partisan division. In those cases, being transparent in our decision-making and demonstrating a strong record of serving with integrity become key in maintaining public trust.”
He is pro-choice, pro environment, and pro Union. If Moore wins this race, he will be the only judge on the Court of Appeals from Western North Carolina.