The decisions came despite the Judicial Standards Commission’s recommendations to publicly reprimand the judges, and these are likely the only times in more than a decade in which the court didn’t follow the commission’s guidance.

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.

One of the judges had ordered, without legal justification, that a witness be jailed. The other had escalated a courtroom argument with a defendant, which led to a police officer shooting the defendant to death. The Judicial Standards Commission, the arm of the state Supreme Court that investigates judicial misconduct by judges, had recommended that the court publicly reprimand both women. The majority-Republican court gave no public explanation for rejecting the recommendations — indeed, state law mandates that such decisions remain confidential.

  • scopsEnglish
    16•5 months ago

    Your third source also includes a transcript of the conversation which led to the defendant rushing the judge. Very helpful for understanding the story here.

    • @TheDoozer
      43•5 months ago

      Seriously. He said his defense attorney was inadequate and asked for a different attorney. The judge said you take this one or you decide to represent yourself. And then the defense attorney asked to withdraw.

      He never chose to defend himself. He never got the option to continue with his (to his mind) inadequate attorney. They made him defend himself for even questioning if he could get another attorney.

      And then instead of explaining or trying to rectify the situation, she just yelled at him and sicced her goons on him.