Donna Stroud

Donna Stroud

Republican Party

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Tenure

2007 - Present

Term ends

2031

Years in position

18

Compensation

Base salary

$189,621

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Campbell University, 1985

Law

Campbell University School of Law, 2014

Other

Duke University School of Law, 2014

Personal

Birthplace

Kinston, N.C.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Judge

Contact

Official website

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Donna Stroud (Republican Party) is a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She assumed office on January 2, 2007. Her current term ends on January 1, 2031.

Stroud (Republican Party) ran for re-election for judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Stroud completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Donna Stroud was born in Kinston, North Carolina. She received her bachelor's degree in government summa cum laude from Campbell University at Buies Creek in 1985. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from Campbell University School of Law in 1988. She also earned an LL.M. from Duke University School of Law in 2014.

Stroud began her legal career in 1988 with the law firm Kirk, Gay, Kirk, Gwynn & Howell. She then joined the firm Gay, Stroud & Jackson, LLP in 1995. Stroud worked as a lawyer with this firm until 2004. During this time, she also served as an arbitrator for the 10th Judicial District Court and as a certified superior court mediator. In 2004, she was elected to the Wake County District Court (10th Judicial District), where she served until her election to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2006. Stroud has also worked as an adjunct law professor at Campbell University School of Law.

Awards and associations

Awards

• 2014: Recipient, General Federation of Women's Clubs of NC Women of Achievement Award

Associations

• Member, American Bar Association Judicial Division
• Member, Federalist Society
• Member, North Carolina Bar Association - Women in the Profession Committee
• Member, North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
• Member, Wake County Bar Association
• Member, 10th Judicial District Bar Association

Elections

2022

See also: North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

General election

General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals

Incumbent Donna Stroud defeated Brad Salmon in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna Stroud (R)	54.4	2,029,025
		Brad Salmon (D)	45.6	1,700,597

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,729,622
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Brad Salmon advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals

Incumbent Donna Stroud defeated Beth Freshwater Smith in the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna Stroud	59.3	400,119
		Beth Freshwater Smith	40.7	274,861

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 674,980
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Stroud's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2014

See also: North Carolina judicial elections, 2014
Stroud ran for re-election to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.  

Endorsements

• Durham People's Alliance
• North Carolina Republican Party
• North Carolina Police Benevolent Association

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Donna Stroud completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stroud's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have been honored to serve on the Court of Appeals for over 15 years since my first election in 2006. I have served as Chief Judge since January 2021, when I was appointed to this role by Chief Justice Paul Newby. I hav a proven track record, as I have written over 1200 opinions and have participated in over 3600 cases while on the court, and all of these opinions are available at www.nccourts.org. I served as a District Court judge in Wake County from 2004-2006 and practiced law from 1988 until 2004. I represented individuals, businesses, and towns in many types of cases, civil and criminal, in many different counties and courts. This breadth and variety of experience is important for the Court of Appeals because we hear cases of all types appealed from trial courts and administrative agencies across the entire State of North Carolina. I have also been an adjunct law professor since 2008, teaching Judicial Process at Campbell Law School. I also have an LLM degree, in 2014, in Judicial Studies from the Duke Law School. This is an advanced law degree especially for judges. I graduated from Campbell University in 1985 with a BA in government, with highest honors, and from Campbell Law School with a JD, ranked first in my class, in 1988. I am a Kinston, NC native and have been married to Wilson Stroud since 1986; we have 2 sons.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Experience matters. Currently, only three of the 15 judges on the Court of Appeals have served more than one term; one third of our judges have served just over one year. It is crucial to keep experienced judges on the court. My primary opponent has no appellate court experience at all, as either an attorney practicing before the Court or as a judge.
• Integrity. I have worked for over 17 years as a judge to uphold and improve the professionalism and integrity of the courts in my work as a judge and as a law professor, with the North Carolina Bar Association, and with the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.
• I am a Constitutional conservative judge with proven track record of 15 years on the Court of Appeals.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Courts do not determine public policy; the General Assembly sets public policy in its legislation. But as a judge, I am passionate about access to the courts. Article I, section 18 of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees access to the courts: "All courts shall be open; every person for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation shall have remedy by due course of law; and right and justice shall be administered without favor, denial, or delay." Shutdowns of courts during the pandemic led to backlogs of cases in many courts and in some instances the delays have meant that people must wait for months or years simply to have a case heard. Fortunately, during the pandemic, the Court of Appeals was able to continue holding sessions of court by WebEx and issuing its opinions without any shutdown or delay, but the trial courts have faced great challenges. Since we review cases from the entire state, appellate judges have a good overview of this situation. I serve on several commissions and groups working on these issues. For example, I serve as Chair of the Chief Justice's Rules Advisory Commission, which is working on changes to rules needed to implement e-filing in all of North Carolina. The eCourts system will improve public access for both filing and obtaining information from the courts.
I am also passionate about family law and I serve on the Family Court Advisory Commission, which works with the family courts across the state.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I love the law; I decided I wanted to be an attorney in third grade and I have excelled in law school, in practice, and as a judge. I work hard and I am devoted to protecting the integrity of our courts and judicial independence. I believe my work over the past 34 years has demonstrated these qualities.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The primary responsibility of judges on the Court of Appeals is to consider each case carefully and impartially and to write opinions addressing the issues raised in appeals, applying the law as it is written and not as we may like it to be. The Court of Appeals is an error-correcting court which reviews cases to ensure that trial courts follow the law as set out by the General Assembly and the Supreme Court. Equally important is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the Court and independence of the judiciary in accord with the North Carolina Constitution and the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Court of Appeals is a collegial court; this means that our judges must work together to decide cases, as we sit in three-judge panels.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Aside from babysitting and tutoring, my first real job was working in The Villager gift shop at Neuse Sport Shop in Kinston. I learned about dealing with customers and working with all sorts of people. I worked there from age 16 until I graduated from high school and then during summers when I was home from attending college.

What is your favorite book? Why?

It's probably the most common answer, but it's true: the Bible. Of course, it's not really one book; it is a collection of books, but it is the foundation of our legal system and it provides the best answers and guidance for every issue we confront in life.

Is there a particular judge, past or present, whom you admire?

Justice Antonin Scalia is one of my judicial heroes. I was fortunate that he was one of our instructors for Judicial Writing in the LLM program in Judicial Studies at Duke Law School and he also taught at several continuing judicial education programs I have attended over the years. I try to follow his example in his approach to cases as an originalist and textualist. His opinions are exceptionally well-written and clear.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running for re-election to the seat to which I was first elected in 2006 and re-elected without opposition in 2014. I now serve as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. I hope to be re-elected to continue my work both deciding cases and improving the Court of Appeals, as well as assisting in improving the trial courts across the state. In particular, I will continue my work in updating and improving court processes and transparency both on the Court of Appeals and in the trial courts in my role as Chief Judge and as Chair of the Chief Justice’s Rules Advisory Commission. I also hope to continue upholding the integrity of the Court and independence of the judiciary in accord with the North Carolina Constitution and the Code of Judicial Conduct, in my roles with the North Carolina Bar Association and on the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism.

Keeping experienced judges on the Court of Appeals is particularly important right now. Many experienced judges have retired or left the Court in recent years, and all but 3 of the 15 judges on the Court are in their first term; five have served just over a year. Experience is more important than ever to the work of the Court as we are updating our processes to accommodate changes created by the transition to remote work by staff during the pandemic and expanding digital processes within the Court.

What is your primary concern about today's legal system in your state?

What do you consider the greatest opportunity for the legal system in your state?

Right now the Administrative Office of the Courts is working on eCourts, an electronic filing system for the trial courts in the entire state. North Carolina was first in the nation in creating an electronic filing system for the appellate courts in the 1990s but has fallen far behind other states and the federal courts in implementing an electronic filing system for the trial courts in all 100 counties. The General Assembly has now provided funding for electronic filing and the system should begin rolling out this year. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of providing the opportunity for electronic filing and for people to be able to access court information remotely, without having to take time off from work, drive to a courthouse, and take time to get the information they need or to file documents. This system will improve access to the courts and increase transparency. It will also provide data which will allow more detailed analysis of the work of the trial courts; this will allow better utilization of personnel and assets and will help us determine areas where we can make improvements.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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