DAWN BLAGROVE & MELISSA PRICE KROMM: Partisan extremism threatens N.C. courts

Editor's note: Dawn Blagrove is execute director of Emancipate N.C. and Melissa Price Kromm is executive director of N.C. Voters for Clean Elections.

A respected judge with more than three decades of experience received a Judicial Standards Commission complaint for the terrible crime of stating the obvious. That’s not the opening passage of a George Orwell novel or a scene from some dystopian Netflix series – it’s just another day of news here in North Carolina.

The investigation and complaint against Justice Anita Earls are evidence of the ongoing attacks on judicial independence and efforts to politicize our state courts. The complaint focuses on an interview where Earls acknowledged that our overwhelmingly white and male state judiciary has for decades failed to fully represent the diversity of the same North Carolinians for whom it’s promised equal justice. In a sane political environment, this observation would be no different than noting the sky’s blueness or the slowness of rush hour traffic on I-40. But not here in North Carolina.

In response, Justice Earls filed a federal lawsuit against the Judicial Standards Commission alleging the Commission’s actions violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Justice Earls should be commended for standing up to attempts to intimidate and silence her.

This politically motivated attack against Justice Earls might seem to many North Carolinians like a mere warning shot. In reality, it’s the latest salvo in a long-raging war against the very idea of an independent judiciary in the Tar Heel state. Going back to 2013, Republicans in Raleigh have been relentless in their attempts to persecute judges they dislike and politicize our state courts in any way possible. The downside of this extremist campaign is that with each passing year, it becomes more difficult for our judiciary to do its job of protecting our constitutional rights and freedoms. That’s the bad news.  The good news is that it’s not too late to reverse the damage done and block further attacks on our courts.

The newest threats to equal justice in North Carolina come hidden in a long, boring budget proposal put forward by extremist members of our state Senate. High up on their dangerous wish list is hijacking the selection process for members of our Judicial Standards Commission – the same body that received and processed the anonymous complaint against Justice Earls – so that it might be weaponized against judges who they disagree with. Currently, the 14-member commission is composed of six judges appointed by the chief justice, four attorneys appointed by the North Carolina State Bar, two non-judges appointed by the governor, and two non-judges appointed by the General Assembly.

Under the Senate budget proposal, however, the North Carolina State Bar would no longer appoint four attorneys. Instead, the General Assembly would take that power for themselves.

If that wasn’t enough, the same Senate budget proposal would also erode the judicial system’s role in safeguarding the people’s voice. In the past, checks and balances meant that when our legislature passed an unfair law, voters could challenge it in court and seek restitution. Under the newly proposed budget, however, politicians would give themselves total power over the appointment of judges responsible for hearing cases brought against extremist laws passed by the legislature. It would be like foxes guarding the hen house, and that should worry every last resident of our state.

The extremist Senate proposal gives away the game that extremist politicians in Raleigh have been playing for more than a decade. They want to rule like kings against the interest of millions of regular North Carolinians. Instead of focusing on the issues that really matter in our state, like funding our schools or providing access to healthcare, these politicians remain unshakeable in their fight to silence our votes and tear away our rights and freedoms.

The budget proposal is currently being considered by a conference committee which will look to smooth out differences between chambers. This time around, it likely won’t be enough to bank on a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper, who could be overridden by a group of extremist politicians voting in lockstep. That’s why it’s so important that we stand united as a people against their dangerous pursuits.

North Carolinians can be a bit too polite at times, but we’re no pushovers and we won’t sit idly as we’re robbed blind of our rights and freedoms. It’s time we tell politicians to cut these extremist proposals from the budget and stop using our judicial commissions as a cudgel against honest, hard-working judges. It’s time we take back our courts.

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