By Jim Lisk, Editor
Sunday, October 12, 2008 — After 21 years of serving as a District Court Judge, Tanya Wallace is seeking to represent Judicial District 20A as a Superior Court Judge.
“The people of our district have honored me five times by electing me to the district court bench,” Wallace said.
“With the retirements of the Honorable Michael Beale and the Honorable Susan Taylor, I now ask for the support from the good people of Anson, Richmond and Stanly counties as I seek one of the two open seats for Superior Court Judge.
Since August 2000, Wallace has served as the Chief District Court Judge for District 20/20A and is one of just four females to hold this position statewide. As such, Wallace has supervisory responsibilities for 17 magistrates and a staff of eight.
When evaluated with 58 other district court judges by Courtwatch, Wallace received the second highest approval rating within the study. She also is a member of the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission.
During her 21 years of service, she developed Truancy Court as a part of Family Court and restructured Criminal District Court in Union County to “dates certain” for trials.
“These dates certain have much improved the court for everyone knows the date and time the trial will be start,” Wallace said.
“Lawyers and everyone involved in a given case know to be prepared. This has significantly improved the process and people appreciate it.”
Wallace is a native of Forsyth County and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UNC-CH in secondary education and a 1980 UNC-CH law school graduate.
Prior to serving on the bench, Wallace was an assistant district attorney and was also in private practice.
She and husband, Lee, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in June. They have two children: Chevonne, a Campbell Law School student and Landon, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill undergraduate.
The Wallaces lived in Albemarle for three years and Chevonne was born here. They have lived in Rockingham for the past 20 years and are active members of East Rockingham United Methodist Church.
In addition to being a former church trustee and current choir member, Wallace is a member of the Rockingham Rotary Club and the Rockingham Women’s Club.
