I have just been getting into the ballot we will be using this year~~~it is TOTAL CONFUSION FOR ME when it comes to the Judges! | Eastern North Carolina Now

    This article helps to explain it, but it does NOT help the voter make wise decisions, in my view.

    I have been living in NC since 1986. By now, I should have some ideas about which Judges do their work across the state. I DON'T HAVE A CLUE!

    It is my view that ANY Judge should be "fair and balanced." In the Bible Solomon is the "example Judge." He was approached by two women, each claiming a baby as her own. He had no real evidence beyond the two women before him. His approach was to simply say, "Cut the baby in half and give each woman a part."

    The real mother begged him to spare the baby's life and award it to the other lady! With that, Solomon awarded the child to her! His wise observation was: "The real mother would love her child enough to make sure it lives!"

    That decision required more wisdom than most people have today. It was not based on a Political Party, rather being "fair and balanced."

    I have been trying to figure out the dilemma of our State Supreme Court Justice in the Belhaven vs. Vidant case. I submitted my finding privately to the Judge. In a few days I received a nice letter from an Assistant stating that the Judge only will consider things presented in Open Court. I was not offended, but made more educated about the system we now have = ALL THINGS LEGAL IN FRONT OF ALL PARTIES AND THE PUBLIC WITH NOTHING HIDDEN!

    If we continue this way of electing Judges, the writer points out that 16% of the public COULD elect a new Judge. We know virtually NOTHING about any Judge's credentials nor record of judgements! We are now getting a few political ads concerning the Judges running. Their campaign funds are not having anything other than private contributions to present their record and hopes to serve fairly.

    If we want a Justice System in NC which is "fair and balanced," this is NOT the way to go in my view. The ballot has them listed in alphabetical order similar to the Yellow Pages. When I was going into the Tree Surgery business, I was considering Professional/Affordable as a name against Affordable/Professional. I chose the "A" name as my start BECAUSE that would get me at the first of the advertising section of the phone book!

    The current system we will have to contend with this time MIGHT have candidates changing their name or spelling it in a strange way ---- just to be in the first 1/3 of the listed candidates! In my view, this is a more than poor way of dealing with a blindfolded Lady Justice symbolic of "fair and balanced."