Attack Ad In State Supreme Court Race

Catherine Brand: Supporters of state Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby have released an attack ad criticizing his opponent, Judge Sam Ervin. Jessica Jones reports it's the first attack ad of the campaign.

Jessica Jones: The Republican-leaning Superpac Justice for All N.C. is sponsoring the ad, which began airing today.

Ad: Can we trust Sam Ervin the fourth to be a fair judge?

It says Ervin and his family contributed money to quote convicted felon Mike Easley unquote even though campaign contributions were made before the former governor was convicted in 2010. The ad goes on to mention that Easley appointed Ervin to the state utilities commission, where it says he voted to raise rates. But utilities are the ones that generally request rate increases. Judge Ervin says he doesn't think much of the ad.

Judge Sam Ervin: It looks to me like an act of desperation on the part of the folks who were trying to prevail in this election.

Supporters of Justice for All N.C. did not respond to requests for interviews.