CharMeckVotes.org

District Court 26, Judge – Candidate – Sean Smith

Website: www.SeanSmithForJudge.com

E-mail: seanforjudge@gmail.com

Phone Number: 704 622 1776

Facebook Page or URL: Sean Smith for Judge

Twitter name or URL: @seanforjudge

Current Occupation: former Assistant District Attorney

Education–Highest Degree: J.D. Villanova University School of Law B.B.A. University of Notre Dame

Most important organizations you belong to (up to three): North Carolina State Bar (member since 2003)

Republican Party (member since 1998)

United States Soccer Federation (professional, collegiate, and youth soccer referee – member since 1994)

List up to three (3) of your most important political/civic accomplishments in the last five (5) years. (150 word limit): During the past five years, I prosecuted and convicted countless defendants of numerous crimes during my tenure as a prosecutor for Mecklenburg County. I prosecuted everything from armed robberies to domestic violence felonies to home invasions to DWIs to drug trafficking, and I took great pride in using my trial skills to ensure justice for the victims and for the people of North Carolina.

Of those trials, three convictions stand out from my prosecutorial career.
One, I convicted the fiancé of a recent Paraguayan immigrant of several domestic violence felony assaults stemming from multiple stabbings during a New Year’s Eve alcohol-induced rage.
Two, I convicted a 17-time felon of an 18th felony and of being a Habitual Felon, thereby securing a jail sentence of over 13 years.
Three, I convicted a high-level cocaine trafficker of multiple large-quantity drug sales in and around south Charlotte over a period of several months.

What qualities, other than obvious fairness and impartiality, will you/do you bring to the bench that makes you a good judge? (150 word limit): I have a judicial philosophy grounded in the separation of powers and with a respect for the judiciary’s limited role. I believe a judge’s function is simply to decide cases and controversies while leaving lawmaking to our elected legislative representatives.

I have extensive experience as a criminal prosecutor responsible for prosecuting the very types of cases over which I would preside as District Court Judge. I have spent my entire legal career in Mecklenburg County’s courtrooms, arguing to scores of juries, speaking with hundreds of witnesses, and representing the State against thousands of defendants.

Mecklenburg County is my home, as it always has been. From growing up here, I am intimately familiar with this community and I remain firmly dedicated to protecting the rights of all who come before me. I have the energy, interest, and passion to work each day on the bench until the last case is heard.

How has the state budget crisis affected the judicial process in recent years? (200 word limit): Technologically, in the attempt to provide case information to all parties, the gap between what is possible and what is done by the North Carolina judicial system continues to widen. We are frozen in a technological reality from the 1990s, using outdated technology and computer systems to track cases and assemble statistics. As a prosecutor, I dealt with the paper-based case management system mandated by the budget crisis that, unfortunately, too often led to an information deficit at important case stages. Inevitably, the judicial system’s failure to provide case-specific information to judges, litigants, prosecutors, defendants, and the public affects a percentage of case outcomes. When money is cut off from the judicial system, the level of justice which this State provides to its citizens is unquestionably impaired.

Increased pressure to minimize judicial system costs currently influences system decision making at a much greater degree today than five years ago. Despite these financial pressures, a judge’s decision must be unequivocally based upon the law and the facts of the case. The judges of North Carolina must stay vigilant in withstanding outside financial pressures tending to affect the ultimate application of justice, even in the times of a State budget crisis.

How can residents get involved in your campaign? Please include campaign manager or volunteer coordinator’s contact information.: Please visit www.SeanSmithForJudge.com for more information about my qualifications or to make a financial contribution to my campaign for judge. If you would like to place a yard sign in your front yard or volunteer at upcoming community events, please send the campaign a note at seanforjudge@gmail.com .