Two Mecklenburg County judges plead guilty to misdemeanor notary crimes
Two Mecklenburg County judges pleaded guilty to misdemeanor notary crimes on Friday.
District Court judges Roderick Davis and Shanté Burke-Hayer committed the violations before they were elected — when they shared an office space in May 2022, their lawyers said in court. The charges came after an investigation by the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, sparked when Burke-Hayer’s client filed a complaint.
Davis pleaded guilty to administering an oath without a principal and two counts of taking an acknowledgment without a principal.
Burke-Hayer pleaded guilty to aiding/abetting administering an oath without a principal and two counts of aiding/abetting taking an acknowledgment without a principal. In a news release, her attorney Harold Cogdell Jr. said Burke-Hayer helped to get three related documents notarized without the person who signed them present.
In court, their lawyers acknowledged that both violated state statutes. There was no bad intent, they said.
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather prosecuted the case. It was significant because of the way it might diminish people’s confidence in the North Carolina notary seal, he said in court Friday.
“The real thing is about the integrity of the notary seal,” Merriweather told Judge Larry Wilson, a retired chief district court judge from outside Mecklenburg County who presided.
Judges’ punishment for misdemeanors
Wilson placed Burke-Hayer and Davis on 90 days of unsupervised probation. They must not commit any new violations, and they must speak to a notary class about the importance of being a “stickler” when complying with statute.
He granted a conditional discharge, which means that, if they succeed in probation, their convictions will be dismissed.
Merriweather also brought the issue to the North Carolina State Bar, he said in court.
The State Bar on Friday said it doesn’t confirm if it’s investigating someone.
“By statute and administrative rule, our investigative process is not a matter of public record unless and until there is a public disposition of the matter,” said Carmen Bannon, counsel for the Bar.
Lawyers have been disciplined for notary violations before, she said.
Even then, it’s “highly unusual” for just a criminal conviction to result in “any kind of immediate consequence from our agency,” she said. And those would usually be suspensions for serious offenses.
The State Bar has no jurisdiction over whether a licensed attorney remains a sitting judge, she added.
The law firm representing Burke-Hayer said that she acted in haste and made a mistake.
“I am pleased to have closure,” she said in a statement. “No one is above the law, and I accept responsibility for my conduct. This resolution will allow my professional attention to remain squarely focused on my continued service to the parties that appear before me. I desire nothing more than to remain steadfast in my commitment to serving our community as a hardworking, fair, and impartial jurist.”
It’s been a lesson for her, she added.
Davis’ attorney, Norman Butler, declined to comment.
This story was originally published January 5, 2024 at 3:04 PM.