Dean R. Poirier, an Appeals Referee with the North Carolina Employment Security Commission and an Adjunct Instructor of Law at Mount Olive College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Kaplan University and Liberty University, announces his candidacy for the North Carolina Court of Appeals (Wynn Seat).

Poirier intends to honor the promise he made some 10 years ago when he first entered public service, to protect and defend the rights and principles enshrined in both our United States and North Carolina Constitutions. He also plans to travel the State, to both introduce himself to voters and to hear their concerns about the administration of justice in North Carolina.

As an Appeals Referee, Poirier has conducted over 10,000 contested case hearings and rendered as many legal decisions. A graduate of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, Poirier has also practiced law in the areas of real estate, wills, trusts and estates and business and corporate law and he has trained attorneys throughout the state in computerized legal research as a former training consultant for Lawyers Cooperative Publishing/West Publishing.

Poirier argues that the essential role of a judge is to render a just and impartial decision, based on the facts and the law. However, in addition, a judge must be ever mindful of the fact that his decisions are not mere academic exercises, but that they seriously affect the lives of real people. A judge must therefore demonstrate sincere respect and compassion for all those parties who come before him and all those people whose rights and welfare will be impacted by his decisions.

Poirier believes in “Judicial Humility” as opposed to “Judicial Arrogance”, “Judicial Restraint” as opposed to “Judicial Activism”. He believes that judges have no popular mandate to act as policy makers; rather, judges should defer to the elected branches of the federal and state governments with respect to policy so long as they stay within the confines of their powers as defined by the U.S. and state constitutions.

Poirier, husband to DeAnn Gray Poirier, formerly of Charlotte, is the proud father of 4 beautiful girls, Heather Lee, Jessica Grace, Elizabeth Hope and Charlotte Faith, and an active member and Adult Sunday School Teacher at Adamsville Baptist Church in Goldsboro, NC.

Poirier welcomes North Carolina voters to learn more about his background and experience, his judicial philosophy, and about what he hopes to accomplish as a Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, by visiting his website at Poirier4justice.com.