Christine Marie Walczyk

Walczyk (pronounced WALL-zik) has been a district court judge in Wake County for nearly two decades (including being named Lead Judge) and practiced law in private practice before that. She describes herself as "the most experienced district court judge in Wake County." She says she is running because of the public's loss of confidence in the court system and says she wants to restore that trust. She is the only woman running for the Court of Appeals in this cycle. In the primary, she was endorsed by a number of judges and state legislators including Cheri Beasley, the Democratic former Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court and former candidate for U.S. Senate.

Review of Candidate Rulings (Source: Wake Forest University School of Law Pro Bono Project)

Available appellate decisions do not provide enough information to identify a broader judicial philosophy. The published decisions involving Judge Walczyk primarily address specific procedural and legal issues rather than her overall approach to judging. Walczyk has served as a Wake County District Court judge since 2007 and has held leadership roles, including Lead Judge of Family Court and Lead Judge of General Civil Court. Before joining the bench, she practiced law representing individuals and businesses in civil matters as well as criminal defendants. Publicly available appeals of her decisions show that the North Carolina Court of Appeals has both upheld and reversed portions of her rulings in different cases, including matters involving jurisdiction and a business dispute. A review of appellate decisions identified three cases in which Judge Walczyk's orders were at least partially reversed or vacated on appeal.