Tuesday, October 26, 2010

District 5 bench opens seat for new judge

By Patricia E. Matson Wednesday, October 20, 2010


Chad Hogston
Robin Wicks Robinson

Since the state legislature approved an additional judge for the District 5 Court bench due to increased population pressure, there is an open seat in this election. Two political and judicial newcomers are running in the nonpartisan race, but both are New Hanover County lawyers.

Robin Wicks Robinson has been practicing criminal, juvenile, family and civil law in Wilmington since 1986, although the heart of her service has been in family and juvenile law.

Chad Hogston moved to Wilmington in 1994 and has focused mainly in criminal and traffic law, mixed with some civil litigation. Hogston said a district court judge should have everyday court experience, a good temperament and the ability to work with people as a referee or bringing parties together.

"They’ve got to be able to make life-changing decisions," he said.

He compared district court to an emergency room, with each person having their own particular crisis that is the most important thing in their life at the moment. A judge needs to be able to focus on that, make a good decision, and then move on to the next case, he said.

Robinson said a judge needs knowledge, experience, integrity and fairness. She added that family and juvenile law are where knowledge and experience are most important, since a judge there has the discretion to help families in crisis.

Asked whether the letter or the spirit of the law was more important, she said that district court judges don’t make the law at their level. She called district court the people’s court where everyday problems are solved. She added that there’s not a lot of judicial discretion in criminal court, since the parameters of sentencing are pretty rigid. Civil court simply calls on judges to apply facts to the law, she said.

However, she believes the spirit of the law applies to discretion, as in family and juvenile law. There are many options to try to solve problems and look at ways to help prevent children from coming back through the court system, she said, but it still comes down to knowing the law and following it.

Hogston voiced a strong preference for judicial restraint over activism, reading the letter of the law as it is, and said he loved to hear a judge tell people that if they have a problem with a law, they need to talk to the legislature about it. He added that if interpretations were necessary, they could normally be determined through precedents of the higher courts and appellate rulings.

Hogston explained that in district court, family law judges are usually assigned to that court specifically, and others are assigned to criminal, domestic and civil cases, and so forth, on rotation. He said that he had the background for wherever he was assigned, commenting that a lot of judges are former prosecutors who have no experience in family court at all.

"Look at my experience in everyday court," he said.

Robinson cited her service as 5th District Bar president and on the Professionalism Committee, the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee and Family Law Council, as well as receiving awards from Legal Aid of North Carolina and other organizations.

Robinson has been endorsed by the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. She has a peer to peer Martindale Hubbell® rating of BV Distinguished with a 4.4 out of 5 (5 being the highest rating obtainable).

Hogston appears, but is not rated in the online Martindale Hubbell ratings. Additionally, he has been endorsed by the Cape Fear Fraternal Order of Police.

Robinson said she had no particular aspiration to serve on a higher court later, since district court is where most of her experience lies, and this is where her family lives.

Hogston said he’d be content to be in Wilmington district court for the next 20 years.

"It’s never boring," he said.

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