N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory recently appointed Justice Mark Martin as Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court—a move Martin’s political opponent, Brunswick’s Ola Lewis, was not pleased to hear.
Lewis, who serves as Brunswick County’s senior resident superior court judge, is running for Chief Justice along with Martin. But Martin’s appointment to the high court’s top seat is political maneuvering to ensure Martin, who previously was the court’s senior associate justice, wins the seat, Lewis contends.
“This is nothing more than pure politics in an effort to give my opponent an advantage—the upper hand—in the race,” Lewis said.
Read related story: Brunswick’s Ola Lewis to run for Supreme Court
Martin was endorsed by the N.C. Republican Party over Lewis, a Republican who was previously a registered Democrat. Lewis said she has always been “politically independent,” which doesn’t always conform to one party or another.
“The North Carolina GOP endorsed my opponent, the North Carolina Legislature changed the way in which our names will appear on the fall ballot,” Lewis said. “They all but handed him the election.”
Lewis hired campaign strategist John Punder, who helped David Brat oust House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a congressional primary in Virginia.
Read CBS News coverage: Meet David Bratt, the man who ousted Eric Cantor
Martin’s appointment, Lewis said, takes away voters’ rights to select the makeup of the high court.
“People are offended when the choice is made for them,” Lewis said. “I believe people want to exercise their right to vote. Mark Martin will have the distinct honor of being the shortest-serving chief justice in the state of North Carolina.”
Lewis is confident in her chances leading to the November election, even if she’s seen as somewhat of an underdog, though she’s quick to note that’s not how she sees herself. She has raised more than $129,000 from individual contributors during this election cycle, according to campaign finance reports. She had more than $77,000 cash on hand for the filing period that ended June 30.
Martin has raised more than $332,000 in individual contributions and has $167,000 cash on hand, according to the June 30 campaign finance disclosure.
Candidates’ experience
Lewis graduated from N.C. Central University Law School in 1990. After passing the bar exam that summer, Lewis clerked for then-Rep. Dan Blue, the first black N.C. House Speaker. After one year working with Blue, Lewis accepted a job as an assistant district attorney in Brunswick County. After a two-year stint as an assistant DA, Lewis was appointed a district judge. Next was a special superior court judgeship appointment, and in 2002, she ran for resident superior court judge for the 13th District, which includes Brunswick, Columbus and Bladen counties.
In 2006, the 13th District split into 13A, Bladen and Columbus counties, and 13B, Brunswick County. Lewis has served as senior resident superior court judge since 2006. Lewis has implemented several specialty or therapeutic treatment courts, including drug treatment court–the first drug treatment court at the superior court level in the state–mental health treatment court and a DWI treatment court.
But Lewis’ time on the bench has not been without controversy.
In 2010, she sued Ed Rapp, a Brunswick County political consultant and member of the Republican Party, for libel for an April 2010 blog posting in which Rapp questioned her judicial ethics for campaigning for then-candidate state Sen. Bill Rabon. The jury sided with Lewis when they found Rapp knew “the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard,” when he posted the blog. She was awarded $105,000.
Replacing Martin as associate justice seat is Bob Hunter of the N.C. Court of Appeals.
Marion Warren, a district court judge who replaced Lewis on the district bench in 2000, is also eyeing Raleigh as he’s filed for a Court of Appeals seat.
Read related story: Brunswick judge files for N.C. Court of Appeals seat
“Justice Martin has served as the senior associate justice since 2006 and the court is better for it,” McCrory said. “The humility and integrity of his character has benefited our state, and his knowledge and depth of experience is inimitable. I look forward to his work as chief justice as he draws upon his more than 20 years of judicial experience.”
Martin has authored more than 400 appellate decisions during his 20 years on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He earned his JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Western Carolina University. Martin also holds a masters of law degree in judicial process from the University of Virginia.
Caroline Curran is the managing editor of Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6336 or caroline.c@portcitydaily.com. On Twitter: @Cgcurran
