nc lower courts

BURGAW – The ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NC) applauded a state court decision that declared North Carolina’s 201-year-old ban on cohabitation to be unconstitutional. State Superior Court Judge Benjamin Alford issued the ruling yesterday afternoon in a lawsuit filed last year by the ACLU-NC on behalf of Debora Hobbs, an unmarried woman who lost her job as a 9-1-1 dispatcher with the Pender County Sheriff’s Office simply because she chose to live with her unmarried boyfriend in violation of a 201-year-old state law that makes it a criminal offense for partners of the opposite sex to live together out of wedlock.

I've posted the ACLU-NC Legal Foundation's full press release here.

With so much emphasis on local and Congressional races, it's easy to lose sight of the critically important judiciary. Many people I know don't really know how to evaluate the candidates, and sometimes make their choices based on the ubiquity of yard signs. Here's a better option: Take the endorsements of the Independent to heart. Being a local boy with a contrarian streak, I don't always agree with the Independent about endorsements, but I think they nail these races. And I hope they don't mind if I post some excerpts.

State Supreme Court: Five candidates are vying for an open seat on the state's highest court, and we support sitting N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Robin Hudson of Raleigh. N.C.

The fiasco is over. Evelyn Hill, who has been the target of many ethical complaints while on the bench, has resigned in exchange for having the last complaint dropped (AP's take here). Lance posted earlier on all of the (ethical complaints filed against Evelyn Hill), which are much more entertaining than the article on resignation, so I will just resurrect his post below (If you want the original links, you will have to click the link to the original article above):

You may have noticed that Wake County Superior Court Judge Evelyn W. Hill is in trouble with the NC Judicial Standards Commission again ("Wake County judge faces third complaint before ethics board"). This is the Judge who inspired the now-defunct website www.eradicate-evelynhill.com. I thought I'd take a quick study break to compile Judge Hill's Greatest Hits. The emphasis is all mine.

You may have noticed that Wake County Superior Court Judge Evelyn W. Hill is in trouble with the NC Judicial Standards Commission again ("Wake County judge faces third complaint before ethics board"). This is the Judge who inspired the now-defunct website www.eradicate-evelynhill.com. I thought I'd take a quick study break to compile Judge Hill's Greatest Hits. The emphasis is all mine.

From the National Law Journal, Volume 26, Number 13, 2003:

North Carolina's Judicial Standards Commission filed a complaint against Judge Evelyn Hill, alleging that she engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, bringing the judicial office into disrepute, in violation of canons 2A and 3A(3) of the state Code of Judicial Conduct. It recommended that Hill be censured for her conduct, which reportedly included ex parte communication with the litigant, questioning the Duke lawyer's competency and reaching for the deputy's groin while allegedly saying, "its been a while since I shoved a male's balls through his nose holes."