FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jim Tynen (919) 834-2099
James.Tynen@NCCivitas.org
Raleigh, N.C. – An article in the Civitas Institute’s magazine, Civitas Review, says that misguided attempts to overhaul the selection of judges in North Carolina would give more power to legal insiders and liberals while taking it away from ordinary people.
In “People Power: Judicial ‘Reforms’ Would Rob People of Vital Rights,” Raleigh attorney Robert T. Numbers II exposes the drive to pass a “Missouri Plan” that would take the selection of judges away from voters and give it to unelected and unaccountable lawyers and bureaucrats.
“An organized effort is under way to strip North Carolina citizens of their power to select judges, and instead turn that authority over to an unelected and unaccountable commission of attorneys and special-interest groups,” Numbers writes. “If anything, this so-called Missouri Plan will make the judiciary even more politicized, and will make it nearly impossible for the people to remove a judge for any reason. It is vital that the people and their elected representatives turn back this scheme to deny the people such a vital right.”
The article focuses on Executive Order 86 and legislative efforts such as the recent Senate Bill 458.
“Senate Bill 458 didn’t go anywhere this year, but there’s nothing to keep a similar bill from coming up next year,” said Karen Duquette, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Civitas Institute. “And Executive Order 86, which established a complicated process for replacing judges between elections, stands until a governor replaces it. In 2013, the next General Assembly and the new governor need to be aware of this issue.”
The article is available in the latest Civitas Review magazine.
More information on the Civitas Institute is available at www.nccivitas.org, or contact Jim Tynen at (919) 834-2099.
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