It’s open season on lawyers with political aspirations in the Carolinas and U.S. congressional candidate David Rouzer has claimed the first kill.
Rouzer, a federal lobbyist, defeated Wilmington trial lawyer Woody White, taking 53 percent of the vote to White’s 40 percent in the Republican primary for North Carolina’s open 7th Congressional District Seat.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, Rouzer’s campaign released a series of print and TV ads attacking White for being a lawyer.
One flyer that was distributed to voters was modeled after a Monopoly boardgame “Get Out of Jail Free” card and depicted White as an inmate in a black-and-white striped jumpsuit.
It read: “Woody White works for drunk drivers, thieves, domestic abusers and drug dealers.”
David A. Bohm, assistant executive director of the N.C. Bar Association, which has spoken out against the anti-lawyer ads that have been airing in the Carolinas, said it’s difficult to explain to non-lawyers why an attorney has a duty to defend unsavory clients.
“The ordinary member of the public might not understand why an officer of the court acted in the way that they did,” he said.
Another flyer, which showed White in a tuxedo standing beside a bag of money, said that White “has worked for thousands of criminals in North Carolina. … If he gets into Congress, he’ll just work for the crooks in Washington.”
And a TV spot called “Jackpot Justice” and paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced, “We’ve seen it before with trial lawyers like John Edwards. In search of big paydays, their lawsuits hurt businesses and destroy jobs.”
“Woody White is part of the same trial lawyer lobby in North Carolina,” said the ad, which used the phrase “trial lawyer” four times in the span of 30 seconds.
Asked if he thought the anti-lawyer rhetoric played a role in his defeat, White said:
“Oh, yes it absolutely did. That’s the way it worked out.”
White, who chairs the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners, also said Hitler faces were drawn on his yard signs.
The day before the primary and on the morning of the election, voters received a robocall with a statement purportedly made by disgraced and troubled county Commissioner Brian Berger in support of White.
The calls were perplexing because White spearheaded an unsuccessful attempt to remove Berger from office in the wake of a DUI arrest and his increasingly erratic behavior. White blamed the bizarre calls and the campaign sign defacement on a group of local Republicans who support Rouzer.
“The ploy was to associate a very unpopular person in this county with a popular one,” he said of the calls. “It’s pretty sad actually that they would take advantage of Brian Berger, who is just not a well person.”
Attempts to reach Berger and Rouzer were unsuccessful. Rouzer is now looking ahead to November, when he will square off with Jonathan Barfield, a New Hanover County commissioner who is not a lawyer.
The anti-lawyer attacks against White came on the heels of a similar campaign against South Carolina governor candidate Vincent Sheheen, a Democrat who practices civil litigation and criminal defense in Camden.
Sheheen, who is taking a second swing at Republican Gov. Nikki Haley after she defeated him four years ago, is in the crosshairs of the Republican Governors Association.
The group has been airing ads that criticize Sheeheen for his work as a criminal defense lawyer: “It’s a fact,” the ad states, “trial lawyer Vincent Sheheen made money off criminals.”
Haley’s camp also has targeted another opponent, Tom Ervin, a former trial judge and state lawmaker who now has a private law practice in Greenville and is running as an independent, for being a “liberal trial lawyer.
“You have a delicate balance between [these ads] and the right of free speech,” said Bohm of the N.C. Bar Association.
He added, “But we don’t condone it when that free speech is unfairly attacking those seeking elected office based on their performances and duties as officers of the court.”
Follow Phillip Bantz on Twitter @SCLWBantz