Mecklenburg judges oppose division of district

A group of Mecklenburg County district judges came together on March 27 to voice their opposition to a bill in the General Assembly that they say would inject politics into the state’s judicial system.

Senate Bill 306 would divide the 21 district court judges serving Mecklenburg County into three seven-judge districts, similar to how the local Superior Court judges are divided. Currently, district court judges are elected countywide.

GOP Republican Sens. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius and Dan Bishop of Charlotte have said they introduced the bill because with so many judges on the ballot at one time, it’s hard for voters to know who is who.

But during a rare press conference, Chief District Court Judge Regan Miller of the 26th judicial district said SB 306 creates a number of issues that are of deep concern to the majority of current judges in the district. Miller said the bill would inject partisan politics into the district courts’ workflow, create confusion and affect the geographic makeup of the court.

Miller said the reason Superior Court judges were divided into three districts more than 20 years ago was to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act because courts in the state lacked diversity. Miller said the district courts in Mecklenburg County are different because the current make up has an equal number of black judges and white judges, as well as equal numbers of men and women.

“The current district court bench is as diverse as it has ever been according to geography, party affiliation, race and sex,” Miller said. “SB 306 is unnecessary and does nothing to preserve or improve the impartiality of the judiciary.”

Because the bill would shift the geographic boundaries into new districts, many of the judges currently serving the 26th judicial district would end up running against one another. With more competitive races, Miller said judges will have to spend more time campaigning and fundraising.

“It’s just wasteful,” he said. “This would also bring partisanship into the relationship among the judges that doesn’t exist and doesn’t need to exist for us to do our jobs competently.”

The district judges opposing SB 306 have the backing of the county’s Black Political Caucus, which has also spoken out against the measure.

SB 306 is the latest in a series of bills introduced by Republican lawmakers that appear to challenge the idea of a nonpartisan judiciary.

Last fall, lawmakers passed legislation requiring candidates for the Court of Appeals to run under party labels and changed the order of names on the ballot to put GOP candidates first.

This month, the legislature voted to shrink the Court of Appeals by three seats, which would keep Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, from filling vacancies as Republican judges reach mandatory retirement age.

The General Assembly also voted this month to override Cooper’s veto of a bill to put party affiliation next to the names of trial court candidates.

Miller said he and many of his judicial colleagues opposed that measure as well.

“With 19 courts in session in the 26th district every day and 21 judges trying to cover them, we need each other’s cooperation to get that done,” Miller said. “Needlessly introducing partisanship will only make that harder.”

Miller said he has spoken with several senators about his opposition to SB 306 but nearly all of them have been Democrats. Miller sent an email to the two Republicans backing the bill but he has not received a response.

That said, Miller acknowledged that it’s difficult for typically impartial judges to take a political stand.

Miller said he hopes that by speaking publicly about SB 306 members of the public will become more informed about what is at stake.

“What this bill is trying to do is to take away a right that members of Mecklenburg County currently have—the right to vote on all judges in the county,” Miller said.

Follow Jeff Jeffrey on Twitter @NCLWJeffrey