S 321 would change to way local district court judges are selected | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

Might break up the Courthouse Gang

    A bill working its way through the Legislature, if it passes as it now stands, will make a major change in the way district court judges are selected in North Carolina. S 321 has been amended in committee to provide that the Governor, in appointing a person to fill a vacancy in a district court judgeship is not confined to select a nominee from the local bar association.

    Under the current system the bar (the lawyers who practice law in a judicial district) submit a list of names of lawyers from that district. The wording is a bit ambiguous but in practice the Governor selects his/her choice from among those nominated by the district bar. S 321 would change that by simply including the stipulation that the Governor "may" appoint a bar nominee but the explanation given the Rules Committee was that the Governor under this language is not bound to appoint a nominee of the local bar or the nominee with the highest number of votes. The person appointed must still be an attorney in the district.

    Historically the Governor's appointment has been perfunctory. This the real selectors were the local lawyers. And traditionally the local bar has been controlled by Democrats in most districts. With most governors in recent years being Democrats we ended up with most of the District Court Judges being Democrats.

    While on the surface it appears that district (and superior) court judges are elected by the people, in reality the are appointed by the lawyers in the district they serve in. It typically goes like this:

    · A vacancy occurs, as often as not by a resignation so the replacement will be appointed.

    · The local lawyers "club" get together and decides who they want as their judge. That person is nominated as the top candidate to the Governor and the Governor has routinely appointed that person to fill the vacancy.

    · Then at the next regular election the appointee runs for a full term. As often as not no one challenges the appointee and they get re-elected.

    Observers of the judicial system at the local level will attest to the fact that if a local lawyer chooses to buck this system and challenge a sitting judge then they need be prepared for the repercussions. Some lawyers have been essentially put out of business because they either challenged an incumbent appointee or support someone who challenged the "bar picked" candidate. That's just one of those things you just don't do if you know what's good for you.

    In Beaufort's most recent judicial elections nobody ran against a sitting judge. So the people have only one choice or to not vote. So in reality it is the local lawyers who practice before the judge who selected him. Not a bad gig if you're in the Club.

    S 321 would ostensibly change that. It would allow the Governor to select whomever he chose. The presumption is that the appointee would most likely be a member of the Governor's political party, or a supporter of the Governor or someone in favor with the Governor's team.