By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
A judge’s job is to listen most of the time, said judicial candidate Sonia Privette.
“You listen to both sides of the case,” said Privette, a Washington attorney. “You listen to the parties, you listen to the attorneys, you apply the law and render a decision.”
Privette is one of four candidates seeking election to the 2nd Judicial District seat held by retiring Judge Sam Grimes.
“Obviously, a District Court judge’s main function is to preside over various sessions of District Court,” Privette commented. “Now, those sessions may be criminal, they may be civil, they may be juvenile.”
A chief District Court judge has administrative functions that other District Court judges don’t have, Privette pointed out.
“They make the court schedule, they assign the judges to the various courts,” she said.
Each district has a chief judge at the District Court level. The chief District Court judge is appointed by the chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, according to Privette.
The chief judge can issue rules for how matters are to be handled in the district, and can assign judges to preside over different sessions, she said.
Grimes is the current chief district judge; when he retires, Chief Justice Sarah Parker will appoint a new chief, Privette shared.
“Traditionally, it goes on seniority,” she said.
Just as lawyers have certain rules and regulations they must follow, judges have guidelines that govern them.
These guidelines are called the Code of Judicial Conduct, and North Carolina has its own code.
“Once you become a candidate, you are bound by the judicial code of conduct,” Privette said in response to a question. “That, in a lot of ways, limits what judges can say. It governs how they’re supposed to act, how they’re supposed to handle certain situations.”
The code applies to judicial candidates as well as sitting judges, Privette related. She added that the boundaries in the code delineate everything from acceptable political activity to whether judges should recuse themselves in certain cases.
Each of the judicial candidates was asked whether he or she would like to remain in this sought-after job until retirement.
The precedent for this question was set by Grimes, who is retiring.
“Obviously, I would like to win, and I would like to stay until I either reach retirement age or choose to, at some point, retire, if it’s before that,” Privette said. “Again, I would like to remain in that position until I retire.”
She noted that the job carries a four-year term to which a judge must be elected or re-elected.
Speaking of her professional qualifications, Privette pointed to the fact that she’s approaching 25 years as a practicing attorney.
“I’ve practiced in every area of the law that a District Court judge hears,” she said.
A former assistant district attorney under then-District Attorney Mitchell Norton, Privette said she has been a prosecutor and a defender in criminal court.
“One thing is over the years I’ve always tried to keep abreast of the new laws that are passed by the Legislature, the new case laws that come down from either our appellate courts or the U.S. appellate courts that affect decisions in all cases, juvenile, criminal, civil,” she said.
Keeping informed about changes in the law is what a judge has to do, she noted.
“I think I’m experienced,” Privette said. “I’m very diligent in keeping up with the new laws.”
BOX:
Sonia Privette
Age: 49.
Address: 212 Holly Drive, Washington.
Occupation: Attorney.
Education: Graduated from Garner Senior High School; obtained bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a double major in history and political science; received law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law.
Immediate family: Unmarried.
How long a resident of Beaufort County: Has lived in Beaufort County for 21 years.
Experience as an elected official: None.
Other relevant experience: Practicing attorney for nearly 25 years, involved in numerous civic groups.
Last book read: a James Patterson novel.