{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Dave Hall","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nOrlin David Hall, known as Dave Hall, is a District Court Judge for Judicial District 16, Seat 1, serving Durham County, North Carolina. He was elected to the bench in November 2018, defeating incumbent Fred Battaglia. He is a Democrat and is running for re-election in the November 3, 2026, general election.\n\n## Background and education\nHall earned his undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. He then attended North Carolina Central University, earning both a Juris Doctorate from the NCCU School of Law (2008) and a Master of Business Administration from the NCCU School of Business Administration.\n\n## Career\nAfter graduating law school in 2008, Hall founded his own practice as an indigent defense attorney. He worked across the full range of district court matters in Durham, including criminal, juvenile, and abuse, neglect, and dependency cases. He also worked with nonprofit organizations including SEEDS and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice before his election to the bench. Earlier in his career he was an Equal Justice Works Fellow, providing direct reentry legal services and support to individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.\n\nAs a judge, Hall presides over Recovery Court, family court, traffic court, domestic violence court, criminal court, and civil and civil jury courts in Durham.\n\nHall mentors students through The Men of Color Scholar's Institute at Durham Tech.\n\n## Family\nHall has been married for over thirty-five years and has three adult children. He is a survivor of gun violence.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [About Judge Dave Hall \u2013 Dave Hall for District Court Judge](https://www.judgedavehall.com/aboutdave)\n- [2] [Orlin David Hall \u2013 Equal Justice Works](https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/fellows/orlin-david-hall/)\n","firstname":"Orlin","lastname":"Hall","middlename":"David","suffix":null,"token":"d29643853e1c1419"},"token":"7KIf8HHTGy7mUqY1"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"district_court_judge","office":"district_court_judge","officedescription":"In North Carolina, a district court judge presides over the high-volume lower trial court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and most family and juvenile matters (custody, support, domestic violence, abuse/neglect). Many litigants appear without lawyers.","officequalities":"- Judge of a high-volume district court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and family and juvenile matters, often with unrepresented parties.\n- Judicial temperament: the willingness to listen, deliberate, and apply the law dispassionately to people whose lives are deeply affected by the outcome.\n- Impartiality and ethics under the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct, including recusal when conflicts arise.\n- Working knowledge of family, juvenile, and criminal procedure and the precedent that controls.\n- Efficient management of a heavy docket while honoring due process.\n- Accessibility and clarity for the many who appear without counsel.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"District Court Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc District Court Judge District 16 Seat 01"}