In November 2010, Stephen Stokes came in third place in the election for Cumberland County Superior Court Judge; Claire Hill won the seat.
Now, almost 15 years later, Stokes will take that seat. Hill retired at the end of December and Gov. Josh Stein appointed Stokes to replace her.
Since the 2010 election, Stokes ran for Cumberland County District Court judge in 2014 and won. He took office in January 2015.
“I hope to continue to do what I started doing — have been doing — while in District Court, is to make sure that there is a fair process for all the folks who come before the court,” Stokes told CityView on Monday.
“I’ve been in law enforcement, I’ve been a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and then in the military as an officer and even as an enlisted person when I first came in,” Stokes said. “And so I sort of get everybody’s perspective and understand what the competing interests are, and all that.”
A swearing-in ceremony is planned for March 28. Stokes said he has some matters pending before him in Cumberland County District Court that he wants to wrap up before he moves on. To retain the Superior Court seat past next year, Stokes must win the 2026 election.
In North Carolina, District Court judges preside over misdemeanor criminal cases, family court, child welfare matters and lower-dollar lawsuits. Criminal defendants facing felony charges appear in District Court before they are indicted.
Superior Court judges preside over felony criminal cases, higher-dollar lawsuits and other higher-profile issues.
Stokes brings extensive experience to the Superior Court bench.
In addition to his 10 years as a District Court judge, Stokes has been a deputy sheriff, a military police officer, an Army paratrooper, an Army Ranger, a prosecutor and defense lawyer in the military, and a civilian attorney in private practice.
Stokes has been involved in noteworthy criminal cases:
- When he was in the Army, Stokes was a defense lawyer in the 1996 court martial of then-Sgt. William Kreutzer. In October 1995, Kreutzer shot a group of soldiers on Fort Bragg, killing one and injuring 18 others. Kreutzer is serving a life sentence.
- Stokes was a judge in Cumberland County’s 2015 “sexting teens” case that made national headlines. Two 16-year-olds who were dating were arrested on felony charges and prosecuted as adult pornographers for taking nude photos of themselves with their cellphones and sharing them with each other. The charges were eventually reduced to misdemeanors and dismissed, but the teens had to complete some probation requirements first.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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