The race for North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Judge

The race for North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Judge Categories: 2026 Midterm Election Community News The race for North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Judge Jen Wallace, Associate Political News Editor October 14, 2026 Mady Helt The North Carolina Supreme Court is the highest in the state. The court is made up of one chief justice and six associates. Their main duty is determining cases appealed from lower courts. Since there is no jury, they don’t make a determination of facts; they only determine whether the practice of law was correct.  Anita Earls  Anita Earls is the democratic incumbent candidate and has held the position of senior associate justice since 2018. Before being elected, Earls was a civil rights attorney for 30 years.  Earls wrote in an email that she wishes to continue in her position,focusing on upholding the civil rights of citizens in North Carolina. Her focus if re-elected, she wrote, will be on the lack of access to legal services in the state of North Carolina.  A notable event in Earls’ career was her filing of a federal lawsuit against the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission in response to an investigation against her. The commission was investigating comments Earls made about the lack of diversity of the state courts and implicit bias. Earls alleged in the suit, which was later dropped, that the commission was violating her right to free speech. Earls wrote that she wanted to tell voters every vote matters, and the court decisions determine everyday life for citizens, including things like their education and how much they pay for bills such as electricity. Sarah Stevens Sarah Stevens is the republican candidate. She was a private practice attorney for 40 years before working in the state legislature for 17 years as a representative for the 90th District. She is the former speaker pro tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives and also works in a private law practice.  Stevens said she believes in following the Constitution to uphold the rights of all citizens. She said she is a strict constitutionalist and conservative and believes the Constitution is not a living, breathing document. Stevens said she does not have any specific goals for if she is elected; she just wants to uphold the Constitution the way it was written.  “I’m not running on any kind of agenda; this is what I want to do on the court: I just want to make sure it maintains its conservative integrity that it needs to do,” Stevens said in an interview.  Stevens has received awards from the General Assembly and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association for her work in the General Assembly. View Story Comments 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Leave a Comment Tags: 2026 Midterm politics Donate to The Appalachian $400 $2,500 Contributed Our Goal We hope you appreciated this article! Before you move on, please consider supporting The Appalachian's award-winning journalism. The bulk of our operational expenses — including printing, website hosting, training, and entering our work into competitions — is dependent upon advertising revenue and donations. We cannot exist without the support, whether financial or otherwise, of our fellow departments on campus, our local and regional businesses, and donations of time and money from alumni, parents, subscribers and friends. If you would prefer to make a tax-deductible donation or a recurring monthly gift, please give to The Appalachian Student News Fund through the university here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/54088/donations/new?designation_id=faa93386& Donate About the Contributors Jen Wallace, Associate Political News Editor Jen Wallace (she/her) is an English Major. This is her second year with The Appalachian. Mady Helt, Reporter Mady Helt (she/her) is a senior in Biology, from Jacksonville, N.C. This is her second year at The Appalachian, you can find her featured on both the Photo Desk and the Arts and Culture Department.