NC Supreme Court Squashed Disciplinary Measures Against Two GOP Judges

Last fall, out of public view, the North Carolina Supreme Court squashed disciplinary action against two Republican judges who had admitted that they had violated the state’s judicial code of conduct, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the decisions.

Asher Hildebrand, a professor of public policy at Duke University, explained that in the 2010s, North Carolina had policies designed to keep the judiciary above the political fray, such as nonpartisan judicial elections. However, the gradual dismantling of these policies by the Republican-controlled legislature has driven the court’s polarization, according to Hildebrand.

Since 2011, North Carolina’s Judicial Standards Commission has referred 19 cases to the Supreme Court for judicial discipline, according to the court’sHad the Supreme Court followed the commission’s recommendations in the cases of the two Republican judges, it would have meant publicly reprimanding them ahead of elections for both in 2024. Judge Lori Hamilton, a longtime Republican, had campaigned with the slogan, “the ideal conservative.

The commission soon launched an investigation into Hamilton, sources say. She had potentially violated multiple canons, including that “a judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary” and that a “judge should be faithful to the law and maintain professional competence in it.

At the center of the anonymous complaint was the allegation that Earls had told lawmakers and state bar members at two different meetings about proposed rule changes that would give more power to the Republican justices. The complaint, which was made after, her lawyer argued that it had been standard practice for justices to discuss the court’s rule changes with affected parties and that no information had been leaked.

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

NY court upholds mandatory abortion coverage; Albany diocese plans Supreme Court appealALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York can continue to require companies with health insurance plans to cover medically necessary abortions, the state's highest court rule
Source: 13WHAM - 🏆 256. / 63 Read more »

Supreme Court sends dispute over Arkansas' GOP-drawn congressional map back to lower courtLawrence Hurley covers the Supreme Court for NBC News.
Source: NBCNewsHealth - 🏆 707. / 51 Read more »

Supreme Court sides with Starbucks, makes it harder for NLRB to win court ordersThe justices tightened the standards for when a federal court should issue an order to protect the jobs of workers during a union organizing campaign.
Source: komonews - 🏆 272. / 63 Read more »

Trump campaign reacts to bump stock Supreme Court decision: ‘The court has spoken’Former President Donald Trump's campaign supported the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a Trump administration ban on 'bump stocks,' which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rounds faster.
Source: dcexaminer - 🏆 6. / 94 Read more »

Supreme Court Decision Slammed by Judge'Qualified immunity has become an extremely controversial legal issue because it creates this defense out of whole cloth,' a legal expert told Newsweek.
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »

A Federal Judge Delivers Another Urgent, Scathing Warning About the Supreme CourtIf courts can’t protect women’s bodily autonomy, he asked, why should they do the bidding of police unions?
Source: Slate - 🏆 716. / 51 Read more »