There have been a lot of questions regarding the future of Western North Carolina’s judges over the last year or so, but the final piece may have just fallen into place. 

Western North Carolina courts were saddled with a sizable backlog of cases following the shutdowns related to the COVID pandemic, and while much of the overload has abated, especially in Haywood and Jackson counties, there have still been problems. 

Macon County attorney Virginia Hornsby will be a district court judge at the end of the year.

Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat. 

For the first time in almost two decades, Western North Carolina is getting a new district court judge, and with no one from any other parties running the contest will be decided by the March 5 Republican Primary. 

After several months of filling gaps in court calendars with visiting judges, Western North Carolina will finally fill its District Court vacancy with Swain County native Justin Greene. 

A House bill proposed by Western North Carolina reps. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and Mark Pless, R-Haywood, includes significant changes to a judicial district that is larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

Kaleb Wingate and Justin Greene both earned their law degrees at North Carolina Central University in Durham, but they have different perspectives when it comes to the current criminal justice system and how they plan to serve Western North Carolina if elected to serve as a district judge.

When most people think about exciting election action, they don’t often think about judgeships. 

Judicial races are not usually contested, they’re not usually competitive and so they’re not usually talked about much, for all of those reasons. 

When Jim Moore ran for Clerk of the Superior Court back in 2018 he did so as a Democrat, but now that he’s running for a District Court judgeship, he’ll do so as a Republican.