NOTICE: SPECIAL JOINT MEETING

18th Judicial District Bar/18-H Judicial District Bar

TO:  Members of the Bar, 18th Judicial District and 18-H Judicial District

FROM: Ken Keller, President of the 18th Judicial District Bar and Kim Floyd, President of the 18-H Judicial District Bar

RE: Notice of Special Joint Meeting for the Selection of Nominees for the District Court Vacancy occasioned by the retirement of the Honorable Wendy Enochs; Notice of Meeting to Amend Bylaws of 18th Judicial District

Notice: Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-142 and the Bylaws of the 18th and 18-H Judicial District Bars, notice hereby is given that a SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE 18th and 18-H JUDICIAL DISTRICT BARS will be held on September 29, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room (the Old Superior Court Room) at the Old Guilford County Courthouse at 301 West Market Street in Greensboro, NC, to 1) amend the Bylaws of the 18th Judicial District (a copy of the Bylaws with proposed Amendments is posted on the Greensboro Bar website https://www.greensborobar.org and will be circulated by e-mail); and 2) select nominees to submit to the Governor to fill the District Court judicial vacancy occasioned by the July 31, 2016 retirement of the Honorable District Court Judge Wendy Enochs. Member check-in and distribution of ballots will begin at 3:00 p.m.

Candidates/Applicants:  Any member of the 18th Judicial District Bar or the 18-H Judicial District Bar who wishes to be a candidate for the judicial seat and who is a resident in either district must notify us of her or his intention in writing, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday September 23, 2016. Notification shall state that he or she is duly authorized to practice law in the 18th and 18-H Judicial District Bars and that his or her residence address is located within either district.  Notification should be delivered or mailed to the 18th Judicial District Bar president Ken Keller, Carruthers & Roth, P.A., 235 N. Edgeworth Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 or e-mailed to krk@crlaw.com, or delivered or mailed to the 18-H Judicial District Bar president Kim Floyd, Joe D. Floyd Law Firm, P.A. 401 S. Main Street, High Point, NC 27260, or e-mailed to kfloydatty@northstate.net. (If you send notice by e-mail, please request confirmation that the e-mail is received.)

Persons desiring to be considered for election are requested to submit a statement of personal and professional information concerning the applicant’s credentials.  Such information will be posted at the website of the Greensboro Bar Association at www.greensborobar.org several days prior to the election meeting to assist members of the 18th and 18-H Judicial District Bars to evaluate candidates.  Participation by applicants in this evaluation is voluntary.

Speeches by Candidates:  Beginning after announcements at approximately 3:30 p.m., each candidate for district court judge will be allowed five minutes to address the members present.  To accommodate our members’ varying schedules, voting will be allowed AFTER announcements (i.e., voting will be allowed before, during, and immediately following the speeches).  We encourage you, however, to listen to the presentations of the candidates.

Voting: Voting shall be limited to those attorneys licensed to practice in North Carolina who are in attendance at the joint meeting and are members and residents in good standing in either the 18th Judicial District Bar or the 18-H Judicial District Bar.  An attorney is not authorized to vote if he or she is merely practicing but not residing in either district. [A current membership roster will be obtained from the North Carolina State Bar prior to the meeting. If you recently transferred to this district, please contact the North Carolina State Bar to make sure your information is current.]  Members of districts 18 and 18-H who reside outside the districts are encouraged to attend but not entitled to vote.  The ballots shall be counted immediately after the completion of the speeches.  Proxy voting is prohibited.

Each voting member of the 18th and 18-H Judicial District Bars shall be entitled to vote for up to five candidates for the judicial seat by secret written ballot.  Ballots marked for more than five candidates shall be disqualified. Cumulative voting is prohibited. [Cumulative voting is where a member votes more than once for a given candidate.]  The five candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast shall be the nominees to fill the vacancy in the District Court.  In the event of a tie for fifth place, the names of those candidates involved in the tie shall be transmitted to the Governor together with the names of the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes.

Results of the Elections:  The results of the election shall be announced at the meeting.  Following the meeting, we will transmit to Governor McCrory the names of the five candidates (six if there is a tie for 5th place) receiving the most votes for the District Court Judge seat along with the number of votes for each. The entire 18th Judicial District Bar and the 18-H Judicial District Bar will be notified by e-mail of the results of the election, and the results will be listed on the Greensboro Bar Association web site, www.greensborobar.org and in the newsletter of the Greensboro Bar Association.

Please attend and vote at this important joint election meeting.

Thank you.