RACHEL'S 3RD ANSWER TO THE BAR

RACHEL LEA HUNTER
ATTORNEY AT LAW
901 MADISON AVENUE
CARY, NORTH CAROLINA 27513-4348

June 6, 2006

Ms. Fern Gunn Simeon, Esq.
NC State Bar - Grievance Committee
Post Office Box 25908
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-5908

Re: Bar Grievance
Your File No.: 06G0569

Dear Ms. Simeon:

I am in receipt of Ms. Carolin Bakewell's letter dated May 31, 2006. She advises that another bar complaint has been filed. This time the complainant objects to information regarding an alleged endorsement and use of the "Madame Justice" statement in my commercial.

Regarding the alleged endorsement, I attended a banquet of the NC Sports Hall of Fame. While there, I had my picture taken with Dean Smith. I indicated in my statement on my website only that I had met him. I have done this in the past with others whom I have met and this occasion was no different. I did not indicate in my statement that he endorsed or supported me. The statement I submitted did not have the header in question. The statement went out on or about a Friday.

When the statement appeared, it contained the statements in the header that are the object of the complaint. Realizing that something was amiss, I immediately corrected the website and issued a corrective statement on the following Monday. Following issuance of the corrected statement, it is believed that an unknown individual or individuals who wish to discredit my campaign may have hacked into the website and altered the header. The matter is under investigation and cannot be confirmed or denied at this time, however, the language used is not language that would have been used by Dean Smith or myself and is therefore suspect.

The second issue has to do with use of the term "Madame Justice" in my commercial. I have previously advised that: (1) the office of "Madame Justice" does not exist under the North Carolina Constitution, Article IV, § 6; (2) the nickname has been in use since 1998, before I became a candidate, and refers to a comic-book type of character or dominatrix, not a justice/judge; (3) the bar has no authority to regulate a non-lawyer candidate's use of a nickname on his/her website, even if it does refer to an elected office which the individual is seeking; likewise the bar has no rational basis in regulating a candidate lawyer's use of the same political speech, thus violating the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitutions, 5th and 14th Amendments; and (4) the regulation of political speech by the state bar is impermissible under the U.S. Constitution, 1st and 14th Amendments.

Thank you for your attention to this matter

Sincerely,

Rachel Lea Hunter

Attorney at Law

RLH/rlh