Richard Dietz, candidate for NC Supreme Court seat 3

Name: Richard Dietz

Political party: Republican

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 45

Campaign website: JudgeDietz.com

Occupation: Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals

Education: I graduated first in my law school class from Wake Forest University and have a bachelor’s in finance from Shippensburg University. I also hold a master’s degree from Duke University and worked for two years as a research fellow in international law at Kyushu University in Japan.

Have you run for elected office before? Yes, after I was appointed as a judge on the Court of Appeals to fill a vacancy eight years ago, I successfully ran for statewide election to keep my seat on the court.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: My civic work focuses on helping the public understand the court system and improve access to justice. I serve on our state’s Equal Access to Justice Commission and previously served on the Courts Commission. In the summers, I run free programs to teach high school, college, and law students about the Constitution and the legal system. I also launched a series of animated videos about the work of appeals court judges. These are available on my YouTube channel at youtube.com/JudgeRichardDietz.

What reforms, if any, do you think could make the criminal justice system more fair?

I’m proud of our justice system and all the people who work for our courts, but there are many areas where we can do better. For example, I support expanding our “specialty” courts, like those designed to help people suffering from drug addiction. When our society can recognize the root cause of criminal behavior, we are better able to help people turn their lives around and safely return to their communities.

Are the state’s courts accessible enough to average North Carolinians? If not, what are some improvements you will advocate for, if elected?

I’ve been working to improve this for years. Several years ago, I helped launch a program that matches volunteer lawyers with people who cannot afford an attorney on appeal. In the coming years, I will work to expand “Guide & File,” a court program like TurboTax that assists people in filling out confusing legal forms. I also will continue my work with the Justice for All Project to expand the help that paralegals and others can provide to clients at a lower cost than a licensed attorney.

Tell us about a specific event in your legal career of which you are most proud.

When the pandemic hit and our courts closed, I came up with creative ways to help the people of our state. Using technology we received for remote hearings, I created an online “Constitutional Academy” for high school students stuck at home, organized a month-long summer seminar for law students who lost their internships, and produced free training videos for lawyers. The programs helped thousands of people and received national media attention, inspiring similar programs across the country.