Judge Linda Stephens

You couldn't make this stuff up! At the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, there sits the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens. Frequently, depending on rotation, there also sat another judge named Ronald Stephens, the Donald's identical twin brother, who has since given up the judge game. They look just alike. They sound just alike and having appeared before both of them, I noticed something else. Unlike judges like Baddour or John R. Jolly Jr., both the Stephens boys usually took the time to read the entire motion before them, which is kind of a big deal when you've taken the time to cite the case law and include the relevant facts.

Unfortunately, that's where the similarities ended. Judge Donald tends to disregard the law when it suits him and his demeanor over the years has become, well, de Meaner.

I spent Friday morning down at the State Board of Elections - the last few hours of the filing period. Until about 10:30, there wasn't much going on except idle chit chat with the very gracious Board of Elections workers. After that, in pretty rapid succession, there were a number of surprises during the morning – Wayne filing/Jim Long not filing, Richard Morgan filing for Superintendent of Public Instruction, etc. I was there because I am working with some judges and I wanted to see what was happening in those races. It didn't make the papers, but there was some pretty wild stuff that went on in the appeals court races late in the morning.