File photo
Judge Burke with his mother, Winston-Salem Mayor
Pro Tempore Vivian H. Burke, and his father, for
mer N.C. Rep. Logan Burke, who Ijfis since died.
Judge
from page .41
Of course, it's the kind of
job where 50 percent of the
people are going to be
happy with you and 50 per
cent of the people are going
to be upset with you
because you can't make
decisions to please every
one," he said. "I try to be
respectful and courteous as
I can and not make things
personal with litigants or
parties in both cases."
Lawyer Frederick
Adams agrees that Burke is
fair in his practices.
"I've appeared in front
of him many times. I think
it is a well-deserved
appointment. Judge
Burke's works and service
to his community speaks
for itself," Adams said. "Of
all the times I've appeared
in front of Judge Burke, I
felt that he took the time
that was necessary to make
sure that my client had a
fair opportunity to be
heard, which is all that you
can really ask for when you
have a client appearing in
court."
The life-long Winston
Salem resident, and son of
former North Carolina
Rep. Logan Burke and
Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian
H. Burke, graduated from
East Forsyth High School.
Burke is a 1983 gradu
ate from V Morehouse
College and received his
Juris Doctor degree from
the North Carolina Central
University School of Law
in 1986.
After graduation. Burke
became a prosecutor in
Kinston before returning to
his hometown, where he
opened up his own prac
tice, the Law Firm of
Friende & Burke.
In December 1994,
Gov. James B. Hunt
appointed Burke to the
Superior Court bench,
making him the youngest
serving resident superior
court judge in the state at
the time.
He was also the first
African-American male to
be named to the senior res
ident position and the first
black male prosecutor in
Forsyth county.
Burke gained national
attention after hearing a
case in Wilkesboro where a
drunk driver killed another
driver in an accident. As a
result of a guilty plea, the
woman was ordered to
wear a sign that stated she
was a convicted drunk
driver and as a result some
one lost their life. The sign
was to be worn for an hour
once a month outside of the
courthouse for a year.
She was also to main
tain a memorial site at the
scene of the accident, go
for alcohol treatment, serve
six months in jail and serve
on probation.
He appeared on Nancy
Grace's "Pros and Cons"
TV show. Fox national
news, and a TV show host
ed by John Walsh, who is
known for "America's
Most Wanted" and other
TV outlets.
While he comes from a
long familial legacy of
service to the community,
he wants to forge his own
path.
"I had an opportunity to
observe my parents in lead
ership roles all my life as a
child," he said.
"I bring with me their
experiences and how I've
observed them interact
with and serve the commu
nity."
Burke said that he
hopes to be remembered as
someone who made fair
decisions.
"I just hope that it
would be that I was a per
son of integrity and I abid
ed by the rule of law while
I upheld my oath to do so,"
he said of his legacy.
Adams said that he has
known Burke for a number
of years and would consid
er him a friend.
"He's active in the
Winston-Salem Bar
Association. He is very
helpful to young attorneys
by giving them advice and
mentoring them," Adams
said. *
Have a
Story
Idea?
Let us Know
news@
wschronicleeom
Housing
from page AI
"It's very seldom
where you get a case that
has a smoking gun, you
know, have someone who
maybe used racial slurs or
someone who put in writ
ing they don't rent to cer
tain people who are in
those protected classes, so
the cases don't come neat
ly packaged that way," said
Wanda Allen-Abraha,
director of the city's
Human Relations
Department that handles
housing complaints.
Human Relations
Department, which medi
ates landlord/tenant dis
putes, has about 110-120
residential cases a year. Of
those, about a dozen are
usually fair housing
claims, which involves a
belief or accusation of dis
crimination by a tenant
who is part of a protected
class. As a partner with the
U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban
Development, the case is
filed with HUD and inves
tigated by Human
Relations staff, who act as
a neutral party in the dis
pute. If a case for discrimi
nation is found, then its
referred to the city attor
ney, though Allen-Abraha
said they're usually settled
before they go to court. Of
the 60 discrimination cases
the department has had in
the last five years, 33 have
been based on national ori
gin, 17 on race, seven on
gender and seven on dis
ability. Cases can be
appealed to the Human
Relations Commission and
legal action can be pursued
regardless of the depart
ment's ruling.
The Winston-Salem
office of Legal Aid of
North Carolina, currently
has 11 fair housing cases
open. Liza Baron, super
vising attorney of it's
General Practice Unit that
includes housing cases.
said discrimination can
take many forms, includ
ing not making accommo
dations to the handicap and
fabricating reasons to evict
an interracial family. She
said the provision being
debated is both clear and
needed.
"I think it's very alarm
ing and very disconcerting
because if they do come
down the way some folks
think they will, it will
make it much harder to lit
igate on behalf of victims
of housing discrimination
and probably reverse years
of advocacy and gains in
the courts."
However, she said,
North Carolina has it's
own Fair Housing Act that
is equivalent to the federal
one. This would allow
lawyers to use disparate
impact with the state law,
though without the federal
law and the option to go to
federal court, the case
would be weaker. Most
other states, however,
don't have disparate
impact in their housing
laws.
Jeff Dilliman co-direc
tor of the state Legal Aid's
Fair Housing Project, also
said the provision is need
ed because discrimination
is rarely overt anymore. He
said he's concerned the
high court is taking the
case just to change the law,
since there's no disagree
ment on it in the lower
courts.
"Every court of appeals
that has looked at this
across the country has
come down on the same
side, that there's a right
under the Fair Housing Act
to bring what's called the
disparate impact case," he
said.
But it's not just indi
vidual tenet cases that it'll
effect. Richard Moye, an
assistant professor of soci
ology at Winston-Salem
State University, is con
cerned it'll effect cases of
discriminatory practices in
lending and other housing
policies that lead to segre
gated housing.
The case before the
Supreme Court, is one
example. It involves the
non-profit Inclusive
Communities suing the
Texas state authority for
assigning most of its
affordable housing tax
credits to black neighbor
hoods.
A federal judge didn't
find intentional racism, but
that it unacceptably
increased housing segrega
tion and that the tax credits
should have been more
evenly distributed.
Moye said there have
been gains in desegregat
ing neighborhoods every
decade since the Fair
Housing Act went into
effect, most of which have
come from blacks moving
into white neighborhoods.
He said if the court strikes
down disparate impact,
that progress may come to
a halt.
"I think it's been a
powerful tool," he said of
the Housing Act.
Ron Rogers/Chromele Illustration
NORTH CAROLINA'S
I Pre-College Program
| NC-MSEN
n
I The Center for Mathematics, Sdence and Technology Education (CMSTE)
NC Mathematics and Science Education Network (NC-MSEN)
2015 Summer Scholars Pre-CeflMe Program
Voted 2nd in the 2014 Winston-Salem Journal Newspaper Readers Choice Awards for
Best Summer Camp
For Middle and High School Students (grades 6-12) who are interested in pursuing careers
in science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and teaching.
I* Promoting Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education
? Academic Instruction & Activities in Mathematics & Science
? Field Trip: Atlanta, GA - Atlanta University Consortium Center (dark Atlanta,
Spellman & Morehouse); MLK National Historic Park; Georgia Aquarium; World of Coke;
CNN Center/Olympic Park; Six Flags Over Georgia
I MIS Summer Program Pats*
June 15?26,2015; 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
Non-Residential options available
D> vMim for enrolment Residential - Mav 8.2015:
PmammamhMiotrla-kmm 5,2015
Payment Options are available
For further information about the program and online enrollment please refer to the
website: www.wssu.edu/ncmsen and select Summer Scholars or cal 336-750*2995.