Can Offending Judges Be Punished Too Much?

The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state bar’s move to discipline Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett, who has already agreed to a public reprimand. Tillett faced discipline for battling a local police chief and other officials after the judge’s son was pulled over in a traffic stop in 2010. Tillett was accused of trying to have the chief fired, among other actions. In 2013, Tillett said he may have been “too aggressive,” and agreed to a public reprimand in exchange for the Judicial Standards Commission dropping charges against him. But the North Carolina State Bar filed grievances against Tillett. The judge’s attorneys say that is, in effect, punishing Tillett twice for the same action. The state’s highest court agreed: “The State Bar is trying to circumvent both the constitution and the prescribed statutory procedure,” Justice Mark Martin wrote. The decision appears to set precedent in the state that the JSC has sole authority to discipline sitting judges. “Other state supreme courts have long since concluded that a system in which attorneys discipline judges is inconsistent with the goal of judicial independence and is contrary to good public policy,” Martin wrote.