They bowl together, dine together and serve on the same court. But when the music stops in the game of musical chairs that is this year's race for chief justice of North Carolina's Supreme Court, either Henry Frye or I. Beverly Lake will be left standing alone.
Frye, a Democrat who was the senior member of the court when Governor Jim Hunt appointed him in 1999 as the first black chief justice, is running to keep his seat. Lake, the Republican candidate, is looking to earn a promotion from Supreme Court justice, a position he has held since 1994.
Though the race for chief justice has been quiet compared to dogfights for other state posts, what is at stake is no less important. The chief justice presides over the seven-member high court and is, for all intents and purposes, the chief executive officer for the state judicial system, overseeing judges, magistrates, clerks in all 100 counties and a budget of $361 billion.
Frye and Lake have similar backgrounds: Both served in the military, practiced law privately, and began their political careers in the General Assembly. Both have been moderate on the bench, reflecting the conservative culture of Southern courts. And neither will be able to finish his eight-year term due to the mandatory retirement age of 72. Lake is 66; Frye is 68.
But there are differences, too. Frye had a rural upbringing, working temporarily in a New York slaughterhouse before serving in the Air Force and returning to North Carolina, where he attended law school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and founded first a law firm and later the Greensboro National Bank.
As the son of a North Carolina Supreme Court justice, Lake was already familiar with the stately side of downtown Raleigh. Yet it wasn't until after he had been through the Air Force, practiced law for the attorney general's office, and served in the state senate that he found his way to the bench of a superior court.
There are also philosophical differences, said Ted Arrington, political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte-differences the candidates can't state due to the nature of their positions. "In general, their philosophies reflect their political parties," said Arrington. "Lake would be more likely to uphold a capital sentence than Frye, and Frye would be more likely to find in favor of the worker in a labor dispute."
Henry Frye
Frye stressed his experience both in business and the courts as strengths in his role as chief justice. When he was appointed chief justice, Frye was the most senior member of the Supreme Court; he served in the state legislature for 14 years and as a senior partner of his law firm for two decades, in addition to founding and running his Greensboro bank.
He was reluctant to compare himself to Lake. "I try not to get into defining my opponent," Frye said. "I try to list my experiences and my continuing commitment."
Frye said his top priorities include creating a faster, more efficient judicial system, improving accessibility to the courts and protecting the integrity of the court system. And if those seem like esoteric goals, Frye wants to meet them with a list of concrete objectives. He said he would work to bring the most qualified attorneys and personnel to the court system, strengthen training for court personnel and update aging technology in the court system.
Like Lake, Frye has promised to get increased funding for North Carolina's courts. "I think the biggest challenge to the court system has been the chronic under-funding of the courts such that we are overloaded in the way we handle cases at the trial level," he said.
He also would like to see the "family court" program expanded. Family courts-where judges hear all matters relating to families, and where coordinators work with families to solve problems-exist in eight N.C. districts.
Frye framed the race in the context of job security. "The question is whether I keep my job and [Lake] will remain on the court as associate justice or whether I lose my job," he said.
I. Beverly Lake
Lake gives three reasons why he should be elected chief justice: He can serve longer, he believes his trial lawyer days give him broader experience than his opponent, and he believes he has a better agenda.
Lake said that as chief justice he would prioritize increasing the general public's understanding of the legal system. "The main thing I would like to do is to initiate some programs, primarily in our public schools, that would educate young people on the great value of our legal system," he said, adding that one practical way to do this would be to create a video series to be used in public schools and distributed to public libraries.
Lake is also in favor of televising court cases on a limited basis. "I think we could bring cameras into the court room in appropriate situations... so people don't have to get their ideas from Judge Judy and various other sources," said Lake.
Some of the largest problems that the legal system faces, said Lake, stem from a lack of cooperation by the General Assembly to create new judgeships in some areas of the state. "I think it needs to be done because we have a serious backlog [of cases] in many of our counties," he said, adding that he also needed to work with trial court administrators and judges to speed things up.
"We have courtrooms sitting idle while there are court cases waiting to be heard," Lake said, explaining that the backlog is made worse because the G.A. has not assigned new court reporters, as many judges have requested.
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