Campbell Law alumni appointed to task force on ACEs-Informed courts 

Two Campbell University School of Law alumni — Superior Court Judge Charles (Casey) Viser ’00 and Chief District Court Judge Angelica Chavis McIntyre ’13 — have been appointed to N.C. Supreme Chief Justice Paul Newby’s Task Force on ACEs – Informed Courts.  

 Justice Newby launched the task force on May 18, 2021, with the goal of enabling the Judicial Breach to understand the impact of adverse childhood experiences; adverse community environments (ACEs) on children and to develop strategies for addressing the consequences of such experiences within the court system. Justice Newby explained that “these traumas increase the likelihood that these children will end up in the courtroom;” however, this task force is designed to mitigate such consequences by providing judges and court administrators with practical education on the effects of ACEs and equipping juvenile court officials to identify and recognize the impact of ACEs on offenders and victims. In addition, the task force will design and establish new programs that impact the lives of young offenders and victims of ACEs to put them on a path away from the courthouse and provide a platform for feedback to educators regarding their experiences.  

 The task force is comprised of 20 members including: judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, law enforcement, private attorneys, child-representatives and academic leaders. An advisory group of subject matter experts and representatives from law schools, universities, the executive branch and private foundations will supplement the task force in its education and decision making.  

Viser was a civil and criminal trial attorney at James, McElroy & Diehl P.A. before being appointed to District Court and then winning his seat in Superior Court in 2016. McIntyre was an assistant district attorney prior to being elected to the district court bench in November 2018. She is the first Native American female chief district court judge in the State of North Carolina and has been quoted as saying, “it is an honor to serve the needs of our youth by being part of the ACE Task Force.” 

A task force of this kind is the first in the nation and will span across all 100 counties of North Carolina. Newby said he is looking “forward to the positive outcomes this group will produce for our children and communities.”