Mark Davis, candidate for NC Court of Appeals, 2014 People's Alliance PAC Questionnaire

1. Judge Mark Davis
People’s Alliance PAC 2014 Questionnaire
for North Carolina Appellate Division Judicial Candidates
Candidate’s name Judge Mark Davis
Residence address PO Box 62, Raleigh, NC 27602
Cell-phone Number (919) 218-0505 e-mail judgemarkdavis@gmail.com
Resume is attached.
About you:
1) Where were you born and where have you lived?
I’ve lived my whole life in North Carolina. I was born in Jacksonville and grew up in
Fayetteville. I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I earned my
undergraduate and law degrees. My wife Marcia, who is also a lifelong North Carolina
resident, and I have lived in Raleigh for many years.
2) Are you conservative or liberal? Please choose one and then explain your answer.
As a judge, I don’t take policy positions. That’s the job of the political branches of
government -- the legislative and the executive.
I don’t offer a conservative or liberal courtroom. What I provide is a fair, unbiased forum so
that when your case comes up, you’ll know you have a judge who’ll make a decision that is
impartial and based on the law.
I believe strongly that no personal or political agenda should ever enter into a judge’s
decision-making.
3) Please describe how your religious and philosophical beliefs may affect your conduct and
decision making if you are elected.
As I mentioned above, I never bring a personal agenda into the courtroom.
4) Please list the organizations (educational, social, charitable, cultural, political, religious, etc.)
you have joined or supported. If you have held an office in any of these organizations,
please describe.
Please see my resume, attached.
5) If you have had an occupation other than law, please describe the occupation and the work
you performed. Who were your employers?

2. Not applicable.
6) Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense other than a minor traffic offense (such
as speeding)? If the answer is yes, please describe the circumstances and the outcome.
No.
7) Have you personally ever been the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit? If the answer is yes,
please explain the circumstances and the outcome of the case.
No.
About your practice of law:
8) Please describe your practice as a lawyer. Be specific. Describe the areas of your practice
and your specialties. If, over time, your practice has evolved or changed, describe the
changes. Describe your various client bases as a part of your answer.
Before I became a judge, I had nineteen years of legal experience. I worked in private
practice for thirteen years. I served as a Special Deputy Attorney General for four years.
And I served as General Counsel to the Governor for two years. So before I joined the court,
I had handled hundreds of cases in our state and federal courts. My depth of experience is
one of the most significant strengths I bring to the court.
9) If you have been a member of an appellate division court, please choose two decisions you
have written for the court which you feel best illustrate your learning, values, skills, outlook,
and temperament as a jurist. If the decisions are published, you may simply cite them here.
If a decision you have selected is unpublished, please provide us with a copy. Please explain
why you selected these decisions and tell us how they demonstrate your particular fitness to
hold the judicial office you are seeking.
I feel strongly that my commitment to fairness is the most important quality that any voter
can use in evaluating my service on the Court of Appeals. By the November election I will
have decided more than 600 cases and written more than 200 court decisions. Rather than
single out a few opinions I would hope that the People’s Alliance would evaluate my service
as a whole.
10) If you have not been a member of an appellate division court, please describe your practice
in that division. Please provide us with the citations to two appellate decisions in cases in
which you advocated as lead attorney for one of the parties. The decisions you choose
should best illustrate the learning, values, skills, outlook, and temperament you would bring
to the court as the holder of the judicial office you seek. If a decision you have chosen is
unpublished, please provide us with a copy. Please also provide us with a copy of a portion
of the brief written by you that demonstrates your advocacy in one or both of the decisions
you have selected. Explain why you selected these decisions.
Not applicable.

3. 11) Please describe the nature and extent of any pro bono work you have done. Is there a pro bono
matter to which you have contributed that best illustrates your values as a lawyer and you as
a person?
When I was in private practice, I devoted a good deal of time to the Wake County Volunteer
Lawyers Program. I represented a number of tenants who were being mistreated by their
landlords. I found this work extremely fulfilling, and I am proud of the fact that I was able
to achieve good results for a number of these clients.
Concerning law and policy:
As the members of the People’s Alliance know, judges aren’t allowed to promise very much.
That’s why I don’t make statements regarding policy, as your questions 12-18 request. But I
do promise one thing:
I’ll keep on carefully reading every word,
studying every document,
and preparing fully for every case,
so I can deliver a fair judgment for everybody who comes to our court.
As a judge, I don’t take policy positions. That’s the job of the political branches of
government -- the legislative and the executive.
As I said in my answer to an earlier question, I don’t offer a conservative or liberal
courtroom. What I provide is a fair, unbiased forum so that when your case comes up,
you’ll know you have a judge who’ll make a decision that is impartial and based on the law.
I believe strongly that no personal or political agenda should ever enter into a judge’s
decision-making.
12) What are your views on the death penalty and the way death penalty cases are handled in
North Carolina? As a matter of the administration of justice, what should the courts and
legislature do about the death penalty?
Please see above statement.
13) Do you perceive any racial discrimination in the criminal justice system? If your answer is
yes, what should be done to combat it?
Please see above statement.
14) What are your views on the rights (including whether any such rights exist) of homosexual
persons to marry? Did you vote for or against Amendment One?
Please see above statement.

4. 15) In your view, should citizens be required to provide elections officials with some form of
official identification before they are allowed to vote?
Please see above statement.
16) Has the federal Voting Rights Act run its course in North Carolina? Please explain your
answer.
Please see above statement.
17) In its recent decision in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, did the
United States Supreme Court signal a change in its approach to zoning and land use
regulation? Please explain your answer.
Please see above statement.
18) In your view, should state agencies with licensing, environmental protection, consumer
protection, or similar functions make the final decisions in enforcement or other contested
cases or should the final decisions in such matters be made by administrative law judges?
What should North Carolina’s law and policy be with regard to the deference courts afford
regulatory agencies? What should our state’s law and policy be with regard to who is an
“aggrieved person” in cases environmental law violations?
Please see above statement.
Your politics:
19) How are you registered to vote? Have you ever changed your registration? If you have
changed your voter registration, please explain why.
I am a registered Democrat and always have been.
20) For whom did you vote in the 2008 and 2012 presidential and gubernatorial elections?
I am running in a nonpartisan race and believe this question is not applicable.
21) Have you ever been active in the campaign of a candidate for elective office (by active we
mean acted as campaign manager, treasurer, or paid staff, or contributed more than $2,000)?
If the answer is yes, please identify the candidate or candidates and the offices they sought.
I am running in a nonpartisan race and believe this question is not applicable.

5. Judge
Mark A. Davis
Contact Information
P.O. Box 888, Raleigh, NC 27602
Telephone: (919) 831-3710
Email: mdavis@coa.nccourts.org
Personal Information
Born in Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina in 1966 to Leah and Bernard Davis.
Married to Marcia S. Davis, Ph.D. They have three children.
Educational Background
E.E. Smith High School, 1984
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1988
University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1991
Professional Background
Judge Davis was appointed to the Court of Appeals on December 31, 2012. He served as
General Counsel in the Office of the Governor for approximately two years. He spent five years
as a Special Deputy Attorney General in the North Carolina Department of Justice. He worked
for thirteen years as a litigation attorney with the Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice law firm.
Upon graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Franklin T. Dupree,
Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Prior to his
appointment, he handled over 65 appeals in the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of North
Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Professional Organizations and Community Activities
Rotary Club of Raleigh
North Carolina Bar Association
 Professionalism Committee
 Appellate Rules Committee
 Bench-Bar Committee
 Constitutional and Civil Rights Section
 Litigation Section
Wake County Bar Association
Bench-Bar Committee
North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
Eastern District of North Carolina – Local Rules Committee
Wake County Jewish Federation – Board of Directors
Wake County Volunteer Lawyers Program
Susie Sharpe Inn of Court

6. American Bar Association
Youth Basketball and Soccer Coach
Teaching Experience
Adjunct Professor – Campbell University Continuing Education Department
Lectures
North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association Conference
North Carolina County Attorneys Conference
North Carolina Public Risk Managers Association Conference
Publications
“Limiting the Liability of Private Employees for Constitutional Violations”, The Corporate
Counselor (May, 2006)
Certifications
Mediator, North Carolina Superior Court
Honors and Awards
The Order of the Long Leaf Pine
Phi Beta Kappa
Law Review – University of North Carolina School of Law
Bar Admissions
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina