judicial selection reform

On October 17, 2017, North Carolina State Senator Rabon filed a bill in the State Senate to amend the North Carolina Constitution to limit terms of office for all state judges and justices to two years.

Currently, Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution provides that District Court judges are elected to four-year terms (N.C. Const. art. IV, sec. 10), whereas Superior Court judges, Court of Appeals judges, and Supreme Court justices are elected to eight-year terms (N.C. Const. art. IV, sec. 16). Senate Bill 698 would amend the North Carolina Constitution to limit all such terms to two years. Senate Bill 698 further provides that all terms of office for judges and justices both elected and appointed prior to July 1, 2018 shall expire on December 31, 2018. Finally, the bill proposes that this constitutional amendment be put to a vote during the 2018 statewide primary election.

November 8, 2017/by NCBARBLOG

Backers See New Retention Election As A Step Toward Judicial Selection Reform

Featured Posts, Uncategorized

By Amber Nimocks

North Carolinians voting for a Supreme Court justice this November will see just one name on the ballot but they will still have a choice to make: Keep Associate Justice Robert H. Edmunds Jr., the sitting justice whose name will appear, or open the seat up for a replacement to be appointed by the governor.

Edmunds will be the first North Carolina Supreme Court justice to sit for a retention election under a new law passed last year. Proponents of the law hope it will deflate campaign spending levels in Supreme Court races, which have ballooned in recent years, and push the state toward a new system of judicial selection.

February 17, 2016/0 Comments/by NCBARBLOG