Suzanne Reynolds
From Judgepedia
Suzanne Reynolds is currently challenging Robert Edmunds for his seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. (Reynolds did not appear on the May 2008 ballot, but will be on the general election ballot in November.)
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Legal Education and Experience
Reynolds graduated summa cum laude from Meredith College in 1971 with a B.A. in English.[1] Having finished the necessary course work for a Masters in English (at UNC-Chapel Hill), Reynolds changed course before completing her thesis, and enrolled at Wake Forest Law School. By 1977, she claimed both a Juris Doctor and a M.A. (having completed her thesis while at Wake Forest).
After law school, Reynolds joined the firm of Smith Moore Smith Schell & Hunter; in 1981, Reynolds returned to Wake Forest to serve as an assistant law professor. By 1989, she had become a Professor of Law at Wake Forest.
Judicial Philosophy
On Publicly Financed Campaigns
In a public statement released on her campaign website, Reynolds attributes part of the impetus behind her candidacy to the advent of publicly financed judicial campaigns, which she believes to be (along with non-partisan judicial elections) "more compatible with the principles of fairness and impartiality that should characterize the selection of judges."[2]
Political Affiliation
In the News: Articles
2008 BlueNC Blogger Bash Speech
At a 2008 campaign event, Reynolds addressed a group of North Carolina bloggers concerning her Supreme Court candidacy. For full-footage or excerpts of of her speech, see below:
Excerpts From BlueNC Blogger Bash Speech
In reference to the democratic role of judges and justices, Reynolds stated that "we're not policy makers." She believes that any member on the court should "have the courage to take the cases that we should take and then to write the opinions that clarify the law." She emphatically stated that judges "ought to write opinions that clarify the law," and reminded her audience that judges and justices were "really in your [the voters'] hands."
2008 Campaign Endorsements[3]
- North Carolina Association of Educators
- North Carolina State AFL-CIO
- North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Equality North Carolina
- Muslim American Society
- North Carolina National Organization for Women
- Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina
- North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
