The work of the state's highest appellate court is to clarify and explain the law in a way that makes it accessible to every lawyer in the state - and, in turn - to every citizen of the state. In essence, the opinions of a state's Supreme Court should teach the law. For 26 years, I have been teaching and writing about the law. State and federal courts around the country have drawn on law professors for at least some of their appellate judges. The expertise of law professors, particularly those who have maintained strong ties to the profession, makes them particularly well-qualified for the work of appellate judges. I have that expertise to offer.

An increasing percentage of the docket of the North Carolina Supreme Court is family law. I have taught and written about family law for almost all of my professional life. My 3-volume treatise, Lee's North Carolina Family Law, is the authoritative source for law students, lawyers, and judges. I would bring an expertise to the Court at a time that makes that expertise especially critical.

Moreover, I feel the responsibility to offer my services where I think they could be put to best use. As a teacher of professional responsibility to thousands of lawyers, I have taught lawyers to commit their services to those causes that seek them out. Likewise, I feel obliged to respond to the call to service of this state that I love. Since my special expertise is teaching the law and writing about it in a way that promotes certainty, I have an obligation to enter the race to join the state's highest appellate court.

In the past, I have resisted the urge to run. The necessity of raising exorbitant amounts of money in races that were heavily partisan kept me away. With the advent of public financing and non-partisan races, the process became, for me, more compatible with the principles of fairness and impartiality that should characterize the selection of judges.

I ask for your support in this important time.

Suzanne Reynolds