Chief Judge Danny Davis retires
Posted on Monday, July 26, 2010 by By Beth Pleming
One week from today, Danny Davis will be living an experience he hasn’t known in 31 years — life outside of a courtroom. For the first time in three decades, he won’t be waking up to go to court where most of his adult life has been spent handling the public’s business from the bench. Friday, his longstanding tenure as Chief District Court Judge of the 30th Judicial District will come to a close. Davis is resigning his seat three months before an election will determine his successor. Typically, the Governor would appoint his replacement, but “since there’s not too much time between now and the November election, I don’t
think people are real keen on filling the seat (for the interim),” said Davis. “That would mean that whoever takes it would have to wrap their law practice or quit a job not knowing if they will still have the seat after November. From what I’ve gathered, the feeling is that the prudent thing to do is leave the seat open until November and let other (judges) fill in.”
Ultimately, it will be up to members of the bar in the 30th Judicial District to determine who should be considered for appointment. Attorney and association president Elizabeth Brigham could not be reached for comment by press time.
Although Davis will step down from the bench and hang up his robe as chief, Davis said he’s not likely to stay out of the courtroom for long.
“For 31 years, I’ve never known what it’s like to not be in a court room during the day,” he said. “You always think that day will never come, and then when it does your surprised at how quickly it came. It doesn’t seem like 26 years, but when one door closes you always hope another one opens. And it always does.”
For Davis, the door to retirement is more like a bridge to new territory.
He’s agreed to take emergency judge status, filling in for judges across the state on a per assignment basis. When he’s not on the bench, he’ll be involved in mediation, primarily family financial planning and superior court mediation.
“I’m not packing up and going home,” he said. “From what they tell me, that will hopefully keep me pretty busy.”
Busy is a pace Davis knows well. Throughout the 26 years he has served as district court judge, presiding over cases throughout North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties, Davis said, “so much has changed.”
Most notably, “the case load has grown immensely,” he said. When he first took his seat on the bench in 1984, Davis was one of three district court judges serving the entire seven county district. Today, there are six.
“I can remember going to Clay County, calling the calendar at 9:30 and being done at 10 a.m.,” he said. “Now, it’s an all day affair.”
He also remembers when hearing cases was all there was to the job. Today, when court recesses, it means only that Davis can hang up his robe and tend to a long list of administrative tasks.
“Back then (26 years ago), as judges all we did was go to court,” said Davis of his earliest days on the bench. “When court was finished, we were finished. That’s definitely not true anymore. … There’s so many administrative things you have to do, and there’s never enough time.”
What Davis’ time has lacked in quantity, he’s made up for in quality. He’s seen the construction of new courthouse facilities in Haywood, Clay and Jackson Counties and helped implement several new programs arising from a need to ease an overburdened judicial system.
In recent years, as the caseload has become increasingly more demanding, state resources more scarce, court personnel have been forced to find ways to mitigate the strain. Out of that have come a handful of programs aimed at resolving cases outside of a courtroom through arbitration and mediation.
“Mediation has taken a bigger role because it has to,” said Davis. “The resources are just not there to deal with all the cases, so you hope the cases that are mediated can get settled (outside of court) so we have time to try the cases that need to be tried … The court system in North Carolina has never in my 26 years here had the resources we need to deal with what we have to deal with. Our legislators have been as good to us as they could be … but still, we’re being asked to do more each year with less, and it’s only going to get harder.”
It’s the trickle down effect of a crippled economy, he said.
“I’ve always said that if the Congress of the United States and legislators of North Carolina want to know what’s going on in society, they should come to district court,” said Davis. “No one has to tell us the ills of society. We have a front row seat everyday to what’s going on.”
If money is the root of all evil, it could be said that economic hardship is often times the basis of issues played out on the district court platform where everyday people come to resolve everyday issues, said Davis.
Many people turn to substance abuse, which often leads to other crimes and/or loss of jobs, which often result in criminal charges or civil disputes, family problems and/or child support payment issues — all of which end up on the district court calendar, said Davis
“A lot of it is due to the economy and just misery,” he said. “Of course when parents have problems, their children also have problems. It all mushrooms, and we see the results of it right here as our case load goes up.”
Meanwhile, he said, judges work under tremendous pressure.
“Our court system is under attack by special interest groups,” Davis said. “They’ve left the halls of the legislature and they’re in the halls of the courthouse, and they want results. They are demanding that judges give results and that’s a bad, bad idea. We’re not here to give results. We’re here to give fair and impartial decisions to people, not to produce specific results that people want. I don’t think we should cave in to the numbers … We’re not here to give a 100-percent conviction rate.”
It doesn’t help that North Carolina judgeships are elected positions, he continued.
“Judges being elected is not the smartest thing in the world, because they end up making decisions for and against (voters),” said Davis.
From that, come certain and sometimes unreasonable expectations, or a compulsion to make promises one can’t possibly keep.
“North Carolina needs to change that,” Davis said. “Judges need to be appointed, not elected. We’re one of the few states where judges are still elected. It’s just not a good process. … All any judge should ever promise is to be fair and impartial, to follow the law and apply the law to the facts …We’re not here to have agendas. The day that judges cross over and start having agendas is the day the justice system fails us all. If I were still here, I’d hang up my robe and leave.”
Davis’ parting words have never been more relevant than they are now. In less than four months, a panel of six judge candidates will face off in three separate races, vying to fill an empty seat on the district court bench, including the one Davis will soon vacate.
Facing an “unbelievable” case load and economic times that don’t appear to be showing much sign of promise, Davis advises the districts next three judges to focus on character and disposition.
Experience, can be learned, he said, “But temperament is the part you can’t learn. You simply are who you are.”
Patience and restraint are virtuous to the role of a judge, said Davis, as well as maintaining an even-keel temperament that doesn’t over-react.
“Demeanor and disposition are the most important things because they are (attributes) you can’t really learn,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve fallen short of this from time to time, and I apologize because the pressures you’re under everyday don’t make you the most cordial person everyday … Whoever does this job, that’s what they have to be able to do: understand, ‘I’ve only got one day to do this, I have to set my priorities and by the way, I have to be courteous while I do it.’ … (A judge) has to be able to have a personality that allows him/her to do a bunch of things at once, multi-tasking, and try to be patient while doing it, and you have to deal with an inpatient public and a public that isn’t as respectful as they used to be. … You either have those traits or you don’t. Your patience is definitely going to be tried in here everyday. There have been days when my patience has been tried beyond belief.”
Wisdom and discernment go a long way, too.
“I always try to tell new judges, sometimes the wisest use of power is to know when not to use it,” said Davis.
Finally, a judge must stay grounded, he continued.
“I’ve always thought that putting a robe on everyday is a pretty humbling experience,” said Davis. “There’s a lot of trust put on you. You must try to remember where you came from, why people are where they are. Even though they have violated the law, sometimes you have to look beyond that and realize why they are there. I guess what I’m saying is that you can’t forget your life experiences, too.”
Davis’ life experience — much of which has been lived within the walls of a courtroom — will be not only unforgettable, but also likely to enrich his future for many years to come. He hopes that works both ways.
“Anytime I’ve done something, I’ve always tried to leave things better than I found them,” he said. “And I think I’ve done that, although not by myself.”
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