Keith David Rouse

I was born and raised here in Goldsboro. I spent many non-school days as a child and as a young man going to court with my dad in the Wayne County Court House. I thank God I had the opportunity to see some brilliant passionate lawyers at such a young age. Deep down, I always knew that I would be here later in life defending people accused of crimes.

When I'm not working, I try to spend as much time as possible making contacts in amateur radio. I am a proficient Morse Code operator and I like to go out in desolate places where I run a very low powered radio and talk to other people thousands of miles away. I try to participate in several contests every year. Electronics and radio communication have always been obsessions. I had to be a lawyer because I was not intelligent enough to be an electrical engineer and all the jobs at sea as a ship's radioman were phased out by the time I grew up! My call sign is KB4IRR, and that has been my call sign since my very first license at the age of 14.

I'm also a frustrated historian. It was on that career path where I figured out I belonged in law school. I still spend huge amounts of time trying to learn and understand where we've been and where we're heading as a people. Truth is not cheap at all but we pay more for it in time than we do in money.

My first love is Jesus Christ, who made me acceptable before God Almighty by His death, burial, resurrection, and continued advocacy in heaven. Even though I work in an adversarial system, I want Him honored by what I do and how I do it. It was He who put the love for justice and mercy in me and it is He who will be the ultimate Judge in that court of no appeal.