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Trump Nominates Former Jesse Helms Lawyer As Eastern NC District Judge

WUNC | By Laura Pellicer,
Frank Stasio
Published January 9, 2018 at 12:44 PM EST
Thomas Alvin Farr is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 in Washington.
Alex Brandon
/
AP
Thomas Alvin Farr is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 in Washington.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Indy Week Raleigh reporter Thomas Goldsmith about Trump's nomination of former Jesse Helms lawyer for Eastern NC District Judge.

Thomas Farr is a Raleigh-based lawyer who has counseled North Carolina Republicans on a multitude of racially divisive cases.

Farr was a lawyer for former Senator Jesse Helms for nine years and was involved with his 1984 and 1990 election campaigns during which Helms was accused of using tactics that deliberately suppressed the black vote.

Since then Farr has represented Republican lawmakers on controversial cases involving voter ID and redistricting. President Donald Trump has re-nominated Farr as a pick for the judge seat in Eastern North Carolina, a district that encompasses 44 counties including seven counties with the state’s highest concentration of African-Americans. Indy Week Raleigh reporter Thomas Goldsmith speaks with host Frank Stasio about the Farr nomination and what impact Farr’s appointment could have on communities of color in North Carolina.

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio
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Laura Pellicer
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
See stories by Laura Pellicer
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio