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After nearly a year of controversy, Mecklenburg District Judge Bill Belk has resigned from the bench.
Facing misconduct charges and possible removal by the N.C. Supreme Court, Belk submitted a brief letter of resignation late Friday.
He did not give a reason for his departure.
"I am resigning my judgeship effective this afternoon, Friday, Nov. 6, 2009," Belk wrote in his letter to a judge's assistant. "I have enjoyed my friendship with you and my clerks, sheriffs, D.A.'s, attorneys and my fellow judges. Best of luck to all of you.
"P.S.," he wrote, "I hope this doesn't cause an inconvenience on scheduling next week."
Belk addressed the letter to Carol Swann, an assistant for Chief District Court Judge Lisa Bell - with whom Belk had a rocky relationship beginning early in his tenure.
"This has been a difficult year for me and Mecklenburg County's judicial system," said Bell, who oversees the administration of the district courts. "My focus now is to ensure that Judge Belk's departure does not interfere with our courts' daily operations."
Belk also submitted resignation letters Friday to Gov. Bev Perdue and N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker.
Belk, who was elected to the bench in November 2008, could not be reached Friday.
Mecklenburg District Judge Lou Trosch said Belk talked to him and other judges late Friday afternoon.
"He was very cordial," Trosch said. "He told me he was resigning. I wished him luck."
The governor will appoint a judge to finish Belk's four-year term. The Mecklenburg County Bar will hold an election first and recommend the top three vote-getters for the governor's consideration.
Belk, 60, was accused of violating the N.C. Code of Judicial Conduct by serving on the board of directors for at least two companies while in office, and for engaging in a confrontation with Chief Judge Bell.
In February, Bell denied Belk's request for time off to attend a board meeting of Sonic Automotive, one of the nation's largest auto retailers. The judicial code prohibits judges' service on business boards to avoid conflicts of interest.
For nearly a year, Belk ignored opinions - including one from the N.C. Supreme Court - that his membership on the boards was a violation.
Belk served as a director emeritus for Monroe Hardware, a business started by his grandfather. He has also served on Sonic's board for a decade - earning $143,502 in stock and fees in 2008, according to a company report. That's more than the $106,445 salary for new district court judges.
Last month, Belk denied acting inappropriately at a disciplinary hearing held by the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission in Raleigh.
But last week, Belk announced that the commission had informed him it would recommend the Supreme Court remove him from the bench. As of Friday, the commission had not submitted a disciplinary recommendation to the Supreme Court justices.
At Belk's disciplinary hearing, the commission's counsel, Nancy Vecchia, wrapped up her case against Belk by calling his refusal to resign from Sonic "willful disobedience" of rules meant to ensure public trust in the legal system and "selfish pursuit" of his own interests.
She called Belk "a man clearly used to having his way." He is the grandson of the founder of the Belk department store chain and nephew of former Charlotte Mayor John Belk.
During hours of testimony, Belk alluded to what he suggested was a "cover-up" - apparently by the commission - and accused its director of "bullying." In an interview just before the hearing, Belk accused director Paul Ross of acting "kind of like a dictator" in picking and choosing which complaints to act on.
In his defense, Belk said the N.C. code that bans corporate service is out of step with those of other states. He also questioned a judicial code that says judges "should" not serve on corporate boards. If the code meant to ban such service, he argued, it would say "shall" not.
Vecchia questioned Belk's claim that he serves on the Sonic board for health insurance. Though a Sonic official testified the company does not give directors insurance, Belk called the prospect of such coverage "a safety net" when his current insurance from Monroe Hardware expires next spring.
Belk portrayed Chief District Judge Bell as the aggressor in the February confrontation that left her in tears.
The argument occurred in the hallway outside the judges' offices. Belk was unhappy that Bell had denied his request for time off to attend a Sonic board meeting. He called Bell a "political hack" and conducted himself in a "threatening and abusive manner," according to the charges.
Belk represented himself in the final day of his disciplinary hearing. His attorney, Marshall Basinger, withdrew from the case, saying Belk hadn't paid him for his work or for expenses he and three clerks incurred traveling to Raleigh for the hearing's first day.
In her closing statement, Vecchia portrayed Belk as someone who likes to be in charge.
"He does not like the fact that he is not in control anymore," she said. "He is not William Belk anymore. He is Judge Belk." Staff Writer Jim Morrill contributed.
