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Judge Bill Belk may be a step closer to becoming the first sitting judge removed from office in Mecklenburg County in at least three decades.
Belk said Wednesday the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission has decided to recommend his removal, after hearing two days of testimony on misconduct charges involving his service on a corporate board and his altercation with another judge.
The judge told Observer news partner WCNC-TV the commission informed him of its decision earlier Wednesday. The N.C. Supreme Court has the final say on whether to remove Belk.
"It was to be expected," Belk told WCNC. "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. The issues that have come forth at this time - if it hadn't been those issues it would have been something else."
Belk did not immediately return phone calls from The Observer. But he has suggested previously that he has been targeted because of his efforts to reform what he calls a broken court system.
Belk was accused in April of violating the N.C. Code of Judicial Conduct because he continued to serve on the board of directors for Sonic Automotive, one of the nation's largest auto retailers. He was also accused of making disparaging remarks during a confrontation with Chief District Judge Lisa Bell.
Paul Ross, the commission's executive director, wouldn't say whether a decision had been made on whether to discipline Belk.
"Nothing's been submitted to the Supreme Court," Ross said Wednesday. "Once a recommendation is filed with the Supreme Court, it becomes public."
Belk may have been served with what's called the "proposed record" of his disciplinary case. It would include the transcript of his disciplinary hearing and the commission's recommendation.
Belk would have 10 days to approve or contest the record. If he approves, the record and recommendation would be filed with the Supreme Court. If he contests, Belk would have to appear before the commission's chairman, N.C. Court of Appeals Judge John Martin, to resolve the dispute.
In a hearing last month, 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, grandson of the founder of the Belk department store chain, "a man clearly used to having his way."
She told commissioners Belk essentially ignored at least three opinions - including one from the state Supreme Court and one from Judge Martin himself - that said his membership on the boards of Sonic and Monroe Hardware violated judicial canons. Court officials say judges are prohibited from serving on business boards to avoid conflicts of interest.
Over hours of testimony, Belk alluded to what he suggested was a "cover-up" - apparently by the commission - and accused Ross of "bullying." In an interview just before the hearing, Belk accused 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 also 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 also sought to portray Chief District Judge Lisa Bell as the aggressor in a confrontation that left her in tears.
The confrontation occurred in February in the hallway outside the judges' offices. It came after Belk learned Bell had denied his request for time off to attend a Sonic board meeting. According to the charges, he called Bell a "political hack" and conducted himself in a "threatening and abusive manner."
Belk represented himself in the second and final day of the 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.
