Share
A week after Bill Belk resigned from the bench, the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission moved to have the controversial former judge officially removed and banned from ever again holding a judgeship in North Carolina.
The commission on Friday recommended to the N.C. Supreme Court that Belk be removed from the bench for "willful misconduct." It found that Belk made untrue statements to mislead the commission in its investigation of his behavior as a judge.
Belk was accused by the commission's counsel in April of misconduct for continuing to serve on the board of directors of Sonic Automotive, one of the nation's largest auto retailers, and for his behavior during a confrontation with Mecklenburg Chief District Judge Lisa Bell.
"After carefully considering the gravity of the violations as weighed against the evidence of good character produced by (Belk), the commission recommends ... that William I Belk be removed from judicial office," the commission said.
Belk, 60, who took office as a Mecklenburg District Court judge in January, couldn't be reached for comment.
But last month, Belk announced that the judicial commission had informed him of its plan to seek his removal. He has suggested he was targeted because of his efforts to reform the state's justice system.
"I knew that this was coming down, actually, when I got elected because the rumor mill was talking about it - that they were going to try to figure out how to get me off the bench," Belk told Observer news partner WCNC-TV.
Since the Judicial Standards Commission was established in 1973, the Supreme Court has removed only eight judges. It can take the justices four months or longer to decide such disciplinary cases.
The commission held a two-day disciplinary hearing for Belk in October.
In an 11-page recommendation made public Friday, the commission spelled out how Belk ignored advice to get off the Sonic board, continued to question the conduct rules, and finally asked the Supreme Court to change them.
Among the findings:
Belk told Paul Ross, the commission's director, in February that he was continuing to serve on Sonic's board because he suffered from a pre-existing medical condition and was provided with medical insurance by the company.
That month he told the commission's investigator, Glenn Joyner, that Sonic was the source of his health insurance.
But Sonic's general counsel Stephen Coss told the investigator that the company does not provide its directors with health insurance. After the interview with the investigator, the commission says, Coss phoned Belk and told him about the inquiry.
The following day, Belk called the investigator and told him that he actually received health insurance from Monroe Hardware and not Sonic. Belk further explained that he had talked with Sonic directors about the possibility of offering health insurance to its board members. The board members, he said, seemed receptive.
"The Commission finds that (Belk's) initial statements to Mr. Ross and Mr. Joyner ... were untrue and were intentionally made for the purpose of misleading the Commission in the investigation of this matter," its recommendation says.
The commission said it found "not credible" Belk's explanation that he intended his statements to be about his desire for Sonic to provide him health insurance at the conclusion of his judicial service.
The commission also noted that Belk had been repeatedly advised that the judicial code prohibits judges from serving on business boards. The rule aims to help judges avoid conflicts of interest.
Belk was told during a class for new judges last December that judges are prohibited from serving as an officer, manager or director of any business.
That month, Belk wrote a letter questioning the code. N.C. Appeals Court Judge John Martin responded, advising Belk that judges can't serve on boards. Martin chairs the Judicial Standards Commission.
Belk then wrote a letter to N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker, asking that the Supreme Court change the rule. The court denied his request.
The commission also found that Belk's behavior during a February confrontation with Mecklenburg Chief Judge Bell was "willful misconduct." She had denied his request for time off for a Sonic board meeting.
Belk became agitated, raised his voice and told Bell that his service on the Sonic board was "none of her business." He shouted that she was a "media hound" and a "political hack," the findings say.
"(Belk) was standing very close to Chief Judge Bell in an intimidating manner," the findings say, "causing her to feel threatened and afraid, and shouted at her 'you leave me the hell alone.'"
