Rooks excited about chance to run for Ervin's Superior Court seat

Morganton attorney Tim Rooks knows he has big shoes to fill when he files to run for Superior Court Judge in the 36th Judicial District next December.

But Rooks isn’t exactly a rookie.

The 56-year-old has been litigating cases in both Superior and District Courts for the last 32 years and has mediated cases since 2008.

He’ll be running in the Republican primary for the seat longtime Judge Robert Ervin, a Democrat, will leave behind after more than two decades on the bench. District 36, formerly designated 25A, comprises Burke and Caldwell counties.

The primary won’t take place until March 2026. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.

“Judge Ervin is an incredible judge,” Rooks said. “He’s got a super intellect, and we have a lot of respect for him and his brother, Jimmy, here in the county. When he announced his retirement, it was a little bit of a surprise. I’ve always believed that judges should be accomplished attorneys before they take the bench, and that isn’t always the case.

“The main reason I was interested in the seat was because I feel I have the experience to do it.”

Ervin and other members of his family are political and judicial stalwarts in Burke County and North Carolina.

His grandfather was U.S. Senator Sam Ervin, whose statue stands outside the Historic Burke Courthouse. His father was Sam Ervin III, a former N.C. Superior Court and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge. His brother is former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Ervin.

Rooks, a 1993 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, has practiced in Burke County since 2000. He’s been mediating cases — facilitating agreements between opposing parties — for the last 17 years.

He said his mediation experience has prepared him well for the judgeship.

“I feel like the skills that I learned as a mediator and developed over those 17 years translate well to the bench,” Rooks said.

If he’s elected, Rooks would join Judge Daniel A. Kuehnert as the district’s resident Superior Court judges. Kuehnert has held the office since 2015.

“If I’m lucky enough to get on the bench, I would welcome the chance to work with Judge Kuehnert and learn some of the nuances of being a superior court judge,” Rooks said. “I have a lot of respect for Judge Kuehnert.”

A couple of local judicial issues are already on Rooks’ radar.

He said the two-county district has a shortage of attorneys willing to defend serious felony cases in superior court.

With only a few attorneys on the list to take court-appointed cases, the workload for each is heavy, and they don’t have time to give proper attention to serious felony trials.

“It (the shortage) really slows down the tempo of getting serious felonies to trial and resolution,” Rooks said. “So, we really need to figure out a way to encourage our local attorneys to get on that serious felony list.”

Rooks said highlighting the challenging nature of defending such cases is one way to pique the interest of young attorneys looking to build a body of work.

In addition, Rooks is a big fan of the Veterans Treatment Court program, championed by District Court Judge David Aycock of Catawba County.

The program helps veterans charged with less serious felonies deal with mental health or substance use problems as an alternative to incarceration.

“I really want to advocate for that program because it’s got such a high success rate,” Rooks said.

Even though the primary is nine months away, Rooks is excited about the prospect of turning over a new leaf.

“You know, 32 years is a long time to do anything, and I just saw this as an opportunity to stay in the practice of law, but in a different role and welcome a new challenge at this point in my career,” Rooks said. “And I think this is a good time to try and do that.”