By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Gov. Josh Stein on Monday vetoed a bill that would give North Carolina’s chief justice the power to suspend trial judges without pay while disciplinary cases are pending.
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House Bill 377 would allow the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court to suspend a district or superior court judge after receiving a recommendation from the Judicial Standards Commission. Republican Paul Newby currently holds the position.
Before recommending a suspension, the commission would have to find that allowing the judge to remain in office could cause “immediate and irreparable” harm to the public or the administration of justice.
“This bill would have a chilling effect on judicial independence by giving the Chief Justice authority to suspend trial judges without pay, a power no other Chief Justice in the country has,” Stein said in a statement.
Stein framed the proposal as the latest in a 13-year series of legislative changes that he said have politicized North Carolina’s judiciary. Those changes include making appellate court elections partisan in 2016 and trial court elections partisan in 2017.
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“For thirteen years, the General Assembly has repeatedly played politics with the judiciary, including taking all four of the nonpartisan State Bar’s appointments to the Judicial Standards Commission for itself,” Stein said. “It needs to stop politicizing our courts.”
Republicans said the bill would strengthen judicial accountability and protect public safety.
“All North Carolinians deserve judges who uphold the law and are held accountable when their actions put public safety at risk,” said Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall. “This legislation strengthens that accountability, and the North Carolina House intends to override the Governor’s veto at the earliest opportunity.”
The Judicial Standards Commission investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and makes disciplinary recommendations to the NC Supreme Court. According to its annual report, the commission held three disciplinary hearings and issued two recommendations for public discipline in 2025.
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