CharMeckVotes.org

District Court 26 Judge – Candidate – Lisa Bell

Website: www.judgelisabell.com

E-mail: campaign@judgelisabell.com

Facebook Page or URL: http://www.facebook.com/JudgeLisaBell

Twitter name or URL: @judgelisabell

Current Occupation: District Court Judge

Education–Highest Degree: JD, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law

Most important organizations you belong to (up to three): North Carolina Association of District Court Judges, Myers Park Presbyterian Church; Kate B. Reynolds Foundation Health Care Advisory Board

List up to three (3) of your most important political/civic accomplishments in the last five (5) years. (150 word limit): My most important political accomplishment of the past five years is being appointed Chief District Court Judge by NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker. Justice Parker selected me to lead the largest judicial district in the state, which consists of 21 District Court Judges, 24 criminal magistrates and over 200,000 case filings per year. I am responsible for scheduling and running between sixteen and nineteen courts every week.
My second most important accomplishment was revising Mecklenburg County’s Bail Policy by leading a Task Force made up of representatives from agencies directly involved in the criminal justice system. This year-long process resulted in the first evidence and risk based bail policy in Mecklenburg County.
My third accomplishment was expanding courts to include improving mental health commitment hearings processes, compulsory attendance and truancy processes, the calendaring of criminal child abuse cases, drug and alcohol treatment courts, and ceremonial adoption courts.

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): My twelve years as a District Court Judge, and two as Chief, give me a level of knowledge about our courts that sets me apart from other candidates. I have a breadth of experience that comes from presiding over every type of case in which District Court has jurisdiction. I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve as a judge and am fiercely committed to preserving and defending the integrity of the office as well as our system. I have demonstrated leadership and vision, particularly in the two years I have served as Chief. As a local attorney recently described me in a newspaper article, I am “hardworking, quite competent [and] painfully ethical.”

How has the state budget crisis affected the judicial process in recent years? (200 word limit): The budget crisis has had a tremendous impact on the judicial process in recent years. The Judicial Branch receives approximately two percent of the state budget annually. Approximately ninety-five percent of the judicial budget is for personnel. This means that there is not a lot of room to reduce expenditures before having to cut positions. Many positions have had to remain vacant to reduce costs. This means a shortage of clerks, assistant district attorneys, court reporters, guardian ad litem attorneys, judicial support staff and magistrates. All of these roles are vital to the efficient operation of the judicial system. Additionally, training opportunities for judges and magistrates have been reduced or eliminated. In response to this, as Chief, I worked collaboratively with other judges, local attorneys and various agencies to provide local trainings on specialized topics. Further, the funding for emergency judges has been restricted and, at times, completely unavailable. This makes it very difficult to be prepared for events such as illnesses, medical leave or family leave. As Chief, I have been required to exercise leadership and administrative skills to ensure all of our courts are running as scheduled.

How can residents get involved in your campaign? Please include campaign manager or volunteer coordinator’s contact information.: Please sign up at my website at www.judgelisabell.com or send an e-mail to campaign@judgelisabell.com. You may also contact my campaign chair, Mary Howerton, at 704-650-0945 or Johnathan Sink, grassroots coordinator at 704-661-1773.