Timothy S. Emry is a criminal defense attorney who has practiced law in Charlotte for the past twenty years. Starting out as a Public Defender in Mecklenburg County, Tim now operates his own law firm, The Emry Law Firm, PLLC. In his years as a criminal defense attorney, Tim has seen firsthand the rampant racial inequities of our criminal punishment system, and has dedicated himself to fighting for a truly just system. Tim is currently on a team of lawyers that are suing the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for kettling and gassing protesters in the aftermath of the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor murders. Tim also helped form Decarcerate Mecklenburg, a coalition of attorneys working to stop the spread of COVID-19 at the county jail by reducing the jail population. Tim continues his community activism in his spare time, and is a founding member of R.A.C.E. CLT, an anti-racist advoacy group that focuses on housing, justice, education, and health issues with a racial equity lens.

Tim is running as a progressive challenge to the left of the incumbent District Attorney, Spencer Merriweather (D). Merriweather, a moderate, has largely continued the same failed tough on crime policies that don’t increase public safety and lead to mass incarceration. Tim is running to bring genuine change to the criminal justice system in Mecklenburg and to end the failed status quo policies.