Doug McCullough says federal court experience is a plus for any potential U.S. attorney.

The state Appeals Court judge, who served as an interim U.S. attorney in 1987 and again in 1993, said that any potential appointees ideally would have experience in the federal court system.

"A Democratic alumnus of the office would probably be the leading contender," said McCullough, who is a registered Republican. "If not, somebody who clerked for a federal judge or who works in the federal courts in private practice."

Alternately, he said that another strong candidate would be a local prosecutor, especially someone like Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby, who has worked with the U.S. attorney's office on state corruption cases.

McCullough said one barrier to finding good applicants is a one-year limitation that U.S. attorneys have on working opposite the Department of Justice after their term expires.

He said that many qualified private attorneys don't want to give up their ability to practice in the courts they know best for such a long period of time. As a result, some aim for judgeships or positions in academia afterward, while others avoid a U.S. attorney post entirely.

Update: An earlier version of this post misstated the nature of the ban.

Former U.S. attorneys are not allowed to represent clients directly dealing with the U.S. Department of Justice for one year after leaving their post, although they can advise a client as part of a team of lawyers.

They also have a two-year ban on dealing with any cases that began while they were a U.S. attorney and a lifetime ban on any cases they handled.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina has made its endorsements.

The group's Employees Political Action Committee, also known as EMPAC, made 16 endorsements in statewide races after meeting Saturday.

"We're thrilled to support candidates who support the state's working families and the retirees who dedicated their careers to serving North Carolina's citizens," said SEANC President Linda Rouse Sutton.

Although most are Democrats, there is one Republican: State Auditor Les Merritt.

They also endorsed several other incumbents: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and Appeals Court Judges John Arrowood, Doug McCullough, Linda Stephens and Jim Wynn.

The others: Beverly Perdue for governor, Walter Dalton for lieutenant governor, Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner, Ronnie Ansley for agriculture commissioner, Mary Fant Donnan for labor commissioner, Suzanne Reynolds for Supreme Court and Kristin Ruth for Appeals Court.

SEANC, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, has 55,000 members.

Cheri Beasley is running for the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Beasley has served as a District Court judge in Cumberland County for the last nine years. A Democrat, she was appointed by former Gov. Jim Hunt.

Previously, she worked in legal departments for several corporations in Research Triangle Park and briefly served in the Wake County District Attorney's office.

She also worked for five years in the Fayetteville Public Defender's office.

She attended Rutgers University and went to law school at the University of Tennessee. While in law school, Beasley studied comparative law at the University of Oxford in England.

She will be running against the incumbent Doug McCullough for the 12th Judicial District.

Gary Pearce says N.C. Appeals Court Judge Doug McCullough didn't do anything wrong.

The Democratic political consultant writes on his blog that McCullough's recent statement that Republicans need to re-elect Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds to help Republicans during legislative redistricting was simply true:

The truth is that the 2008 and 2010 elections are critical to the long-term political future of North Carolina. Whichever party controls redistricting—in the legislature and in the courts—has a leg up on political control in the next decade.

Pearce says Democrats did "a pretty good job" last time defending their interests and should have no illusions that Republicans will not try to do the same.

He also paraphrases Michael Kinsley's definition—a favorite of Dome's—of a gaffe as when a politician accidentally tells the truth.

The N.C. Judicial Standards Commission will not punish N.C. Appeals Court Judge Doug McCullough for his partisan comments during a speech in Haywood County.

Paul Ross, executive director of the commission, said in a letter that the commission has made “an effort to ensure such conduct is not repeated” by McCullough, a Republican who is seeking reelection, Titan Barksdale reports.

In his speech last month, McCullough, a Republican, implied that party politics and a party’s agenda can influence how an appellate judge decides a case. The commission was responding to a complaint filed by the husband of Rachel Lea Hunter, a lawyer planning to run against McCullough.

More after the jump.

A previous version of this post gave an incorrect title for Paul Ross. The post has been corrected.

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Associate Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds is distancing himself from the partisan comments made by N.C. Appeals Court Judge Doug McCullough in Haywood County.

Last month, McCullough's comments to Haywood Republicans stressed the importance of Edmunds' reelection bid, Titan Barksdale reports.

A recent complaint against McCullough sent to the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission says that his comments violated ethical rules of judicial integrity and implied that judges — i.e. Edmunds —prejudge cases based on political leanings.

Judicial elections are non-partisan, and the preamble to state rules of ethics calls for an independent judiciary.

Edmunds, in a telephone interview today, made it clear that he was an "impartial judge who doesn't prejudge cases," and that McCullough was not part of his campaign.

More after the jump.

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A complaint was sent Wednesday to the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission saying that N.C. Appeals Court Judge Doug McCullough violated ethics rules during a speech in Haywood County last month, Titan Barksdale reports.

Connie Mack Berry Jr., husband of Rachel Lea Hunter, said he mailed the complaint to the commission. Hunter—an often controversial Raleigh lawyer—is planning to run against McCullough for his seat, Titan Barksdale reports.

McCullough, a Republican, gave partisan comments to Haywood County voters though judicial elections are non-partisan. He also suggested that politics can effect the rulings on cases.

Berry charges that McCullough violated ethical rules that say a judge should uphold the judiciary's integrity and remain unswayed by partisan interests.

More after the jump.

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Judge Doug McCullough kicked off his re-election campaign Wednesday.

The N.C. Court of Appeals judge, a former federal prosecutor and a Republican, had some bipartisan support. He announced a steering committee that included Republicans such as I. Beverly Lake Jr. and Democrats such as Burley Mitchell, both former chief justices of the N.C. Supreme Court.

Among the other Democrats backing McCullough were former Judges Sid Eagles and Gerald Arnold, both former chief judges on the N.C.Court of Appeals, Rob Christensen reports.

The kick off was at the Raleigh law offices of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. A fundraiser was held after the news conference.