Administrative Law Judge, North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings

Michael Byrne has been an administrative law judge at the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings since June 2020, and he says he has issued more than 400 decisions there⁴². Before that he was a Raleigh area attorney in administrative and appellate law who often represented law enforcement officers and public employees⁴². He won the March 2026 Republican primary over Superior Court Judge Matt Smith and faces Democratic incumbent John Arrowood on November 3, 2026 in this partisan race³¹.

• Administrative law judge, North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, sworn in June 2020; he says he has issued more than 400 decisions⁴²
• Attorney in administrative and appellate law, admitted in 1996; represented law enforcement and public employees in more than 270 cases before the Office of Administrative Hearings and handled more than 20 appeals to the Court of Appeals⁴²
• B.A. in English, North Carolina State University; J.D., Campbell University School of Law, where he edited the Campbell Law Observer⁴³
• Has not served on a trial or appellate court bench; he was sworn in as an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings in June 2020⁴. He won the March 3, 2026 Republican primary over Matt Smith, 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent³.