Page 25 - NC Triangle Vol 6 No 5
P. 25

JULIUS CHAMBERS
Earls was recruited out of Yale by Fer- guson & Stein, now Ferguson, Chambers & Sumter P.A., a Charlotte-based law  rm well-known for its work in civil rights law. Earls was enticed by the opportunity to work with famed civil rights attorney Ju- lius Chambers.
“He was brilliant, strategic and com- mitted. He was effective because he took the time to understand the other side’s arguments better than they did,” said Earls.
“Integrity, hard work and the relent- less pursuit of equal justice are the values I learned from Julius Chambers. He was courageous, whether standing up to the people who  rebombed his law o ce and his car when he was litigating school de- segregation cases, or standing up to Justice Scalia who grilled him on the question of what it means to have your vote diluted as an African-American.”
During her legal career spanning 30 years, Earls has followed in the trail blazed by Chambers. She has worked on cases involving employment discrimination, voting rights, redistricting, and discrimi- nation in the criminal court system. Her resume includes serving as a deputy assis- tant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Clinton administration and the director of the vot- ing rights project at the nonpro t Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.
In 2007, she founded the nonpro t Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham. She served as its executive direc- tor until last year when she stepped down to run for the high court.  e coalition has argued a wide variety of equal justice cases for minorities.
Anita Earls is down to earth and ap- proachable. Her young campaign sta  has the energy and rah-rah ethos of a grass- roots organization.
PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS
North Carolina’s judicial system is be- coming increasingly politicized, from the growing number of judges required to declare a party a liation to the growing tide of special interest donations to judi- cial candidates. Earls is an “unapologetic Democrat” prompting the question if she would use the Supreme Court as a soap- box.
“I think the relevant question is what is the state of the law with regard to those
issues, my personal views or personal goals do not mat- ter. First and fore- most, an appellate judge must uphold the principles of justice, equality and fairness,” said Earls.
“ e court is not
a policy-making
body, the role of
the court is to ap-
ply the law fairly and
equally in every case.  e Supreme Court is a last line of defense for our citizens. It acts as a check against the other two branches of government.”
Earls uses the phrase “Keeping NC’s Court’s Fair and Independent” in her campaign materials. She elaborated that, “the court is independent when the judges or justices rule based on their best judgement of what the law requires inde- pendent of in uences of special interests, moneyed interests, power ... it is the ex- act opposite of a circumstance where the court feels intimidated and feels like they have to rule in a certain way to keep some special interests happy.  e concept of equal justice under the law, applying the law equally to everyone, is what we need from our courts.”
CHALLENGES FAMILIES FACE
Anita Earls is married with two chil- dren – Dylan, 33, and Chad, 25 – and two grandchildren, Freya, 6, and Evan, 2. Accordingly, she recognizes that the deci- sions the Supreme Court makes now will impact future generations.
“It gives me an appreciation for the challenges families face,” she said.
“As a judge, my personal views are not relevant to how I would rule in any par- ticular case and I would apply the law as it exists to the facts in each case,” Earls said. “I believe a good judge is faithful to the rule of law and applies legal precedents with integrity and intellectual honesty. When precedent is well supported and clear, an appellate judge must follow that precedent even if they wish the law were di erent.”
ANITA EARLS FOR NC SUPREME COURT
5530 Munford Rd, Ste 105 Raleigh, NC 27612 www.earls4justice.com
Paid for by Earls for Justice Committee
AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
Earls’ Family (L-R): Son, Chad, with his girlfriend, Deborah, Anita and her husband, Charles.
Anita greets former NC Governor Jim Hunt at a campaign event in August.
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Campaign sta  JuJu Holton, Caroline Spencer, Earls, Jacqueline Gonzalez, and dog, Doctor Watson


































































































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