Outlier Magazine is working on a story about Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens for the December 2011 edition. However, we are taking a moment to address attempts to repeal The Racial Justice Act. The Racial Justice Act has to do with the death penalty and it allows people sentenced to death, to appeal on the grounds of racial bias. A study found a defendant will be 2.6 times more likely to be put to death if the victim in the case is white, and out of 159 people on death row at the time of the study, 31 had all-white juries and 38 had only one person of color on the jury. Imagine if you were white, accused of killing a black man and the entire jury were black. Of course you'd have not problem with that...or would you? However, according to the N&O, the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys wants the act repealed. The president, Susan Doyle, Johnston County DA, says "If you do not address this issue quickly, the criminal justice system will be saddled with litigation ...” We all know litigation is so much worse than killing the wrong guy...right? The one problem that nobody seems to want to address, however, is what do we do about the racial bias in the judiciary? These DAs are not offering any additional checks and balances to prevent the undeniable racial bias that generated the need for The Racial Justice Act. There is also a large disparity between races when it comes to sentencing convicts to Death Row. Looking just at the federal death penalty data released by the Department of Justice between 1995–2000, 682 defendants were charged with death-eligible crimes. Out of those 682 defendants, the defendant was black 48% of the cases, Hispanic in 29% of the cases, and white in only 20% of the cases. A study of Wake County, North Carolina found that African Americans had bail set 18% higher than whites charged with similar crimes. The median white household in the United States is worth $113,149. The median wealth for a Hispanic household is $6,325. For blacks, the figure is a meager $5,677. That means when a judge sets bail for both a white and black defendant at $50,000, its like actually setting it at $996,556 for the typical black defendant. If they are setting it 18% higher for the black defendant....Damn! When Judge Stephens was informed of this disparity, he simply cautioned the judges to just write down some reason for these harsher bail limits...like an educated racist judge wouldn't be able to figure out something to scribble down and just decide to adjudicate the cases fairly. Imagine if the study discovered the judges Stephens supervises, were setting higher bail for anyone with blond hair or with Jewish surnames. We don't think his response would have been so niggardly. In North Carolina, judges are elected and serve 8 LONG years! Now, finally, the next election is our chance to say we've had enough of this judicially defective King. Most voters elect judges because they've heard their name somewhere or they've seen a photo of him once and he looks like a judge sent down from central casting, but they really don't know who they are or what their record contains. Outlier seeks to turn that around this time. Stay tuned...

The Dog Ate My Homework Dawg...

Former County Commissioner Jack Nichols is currently facing a 111 page State Bar Complaint. Among the many counts, are allegations that he routinely violates the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, by simply providing false information during the administrative and civil litigation process. Case in point: While defending a false statement, made under oath by Donna Mooney of the NC Board of Nursing, Nichols simply lied. Mooney falsely testified that she served subpoenas. When she was asked if she could produce copies of the subpoenas, Nichols jumped in and said the following:

Nichols was then asked who had typed the subpoenas. Nichols' response?

Jack Nichols- License to Steal???

Former Wake County Commissioner, Jack Nichols and the North Carolina Board of Nursing are under investigation by the North Carolina State Bar, The North Carolina Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Office and the North Carolina State Auditor. One of the 133 Counts listed in the COMPLAINT is that he stole evidence from a courthouse file. Probably the most serious charge is that he improperly orchestrated a state agency, the North Carolina Board of Nursing, to hire him as its general counsel to provide litigation services. Under state law, state agencies receive litigation support from the Attorney General's Office and its many Assistant Attorney Generals, who are paid a salary of around $40,000 a year. Nichols convinced the Board of Nursing to pay him a retainer of $5,3000 a month for litigation. Insofar as a state agency (G.S. 147-17) must receive special permission from the Attorney General to hire its own attorney for litigation; AND the Attorney General has to receive permission from the Governor to pass such litigation on to a private attorney, the complaint alleges that Nichols convinced the Board to make legislative changes to the Nursing Practice Act that halted the practice of providing a yearly summary of all agency actions, that would have notified the Governor and facilitated the discovery of the massive over payments. Before the "fix was in", the Board paid its general counsels an hourly rate to advise them during the 3 or four yearly board meetings and to review other such legal questions. The General Counsel would also advise the Disciplinary wing of the Board on any issues they had questions about. The resulting payments to the attorney was around a couple of thousand dollars a years, at most. However, Nichols basically took over the prosecution of nurses under review for disciplinary complaints and essentially became a prosecutor who was paid a bounty for each prosecution. Shortly after Jack Nichols facilitated this massive income stream, he began to run for the North Carolina Senate. His campaigned recorded over $143,000, much of which was loaned to the campaign by Nichols himself. Curious timing... By our calculations $5,300 a month is $63,600 a year. The improper retainer agreement was signed in 2007. Therefore, the State of North Carolina, which has a specific law that states a state agency cannot pay its own attorney for attorney fees associated with litigation, nevertheless, has paid Jack Nichols $318,000 [and counting]. Now THAT'S a [law] license to steal!

Camera Causal Decisions

Judge Allen Baddour did not rule on a request to move accused murderer Barbara Clark from the Chatham County jail to a psychiatric institution in 2008. Instead, Baddour recused himself from the case, citing relationships with some of the people involved. He did say what those relationships were, however; choosing to keep that information close to his judicial vest. Baddour said presiding would not be a conflict of interest, (huh?) but he wanted to avoid even the appearance of bias. Public defender James Williams had asked to have Clark evaluated at John Umstead Hospital, citing a report from a forensic psychiatrist saying she "was suffering from a major depressive disorder ... sense of helplessness, cognitive distortions and suicidal thoughts." Clark eventually pleaded guilty in the of beating deaths of two elderly women at the Fearrington Village retirement community. In December of that year, Judge Baddour announced from the bench, that he had been made aware that the pro se litigant appearing before him that day had made comments on YouTube that he would campaign to defeat Baddour in the next judicial election. The indigent litigant immediately moved Judge Baddour to recuse himself from hearing the pending motions in light of the clear appearance of bias. However, there were no cameras rolling and the case would not be in the news, so Baddour denied the motion to recuse himself, heard the case and surprise, surprise...ruled against the man. Baddour has a clear disdain for pro se litigants. His writings have included papers such as his "Pro se Litigants: An Update and a Survival Guide" in which he essentially outlines how to screw over a pro se litigant and make it look legal. His purported "Survival Guide" is a series court decisions, judicial opinions and rules that help a judge dismiss a pro se litigant's issues and usher him out of court. He even includes a bunch of letters that he sent to inmates, where he seems to rejoice in turning them down for appropriate relief. He ends this "pat myself on the back" guide, with an example of a "gatekeeper order." A gatekeeper order is an order that says a litigant cannot file another motion, paper, lawsuit, etc. unless he gets permission from the court. Unfortunately, gatekeeper orders are supposedly based upon repeated violations of Rule 11 (basically you don't know what the hell you are doing and you're wasting the court's time). The problem with Rule 11, is judges like Baddour apply the rule overwhelmingly against pro se litigants and almost NEVER against lawyers. If you look at his rulings (and we have) you will find two things Baddour includes in almost every order. 1) "Based on its consideration of the matters noted above, the Court concludes that it has the requisite jurisdiction to address the matters presented in the Motions." and 2) "Plaintiff’s documents and filings were served or filed for the improper purposes of harassing defendants and unnecessarily increased the cost of litigation." Baddour proclaims that he has the requisite jurisdiction, even when the law would tend to say differently...like when he ruled that Judge Joseph Buckner violated a defendant's constitutional right to due process when Judge Buckner increased the defendant's bond without making any findings of fact, contrary to the United States and North Carolina Constitutions. Although we applaud that decision, in North Carolina, one Superior Court Judge cannot overrule another. It's kind of crazy, but that is the law in the state and Baddour violated it. Ironically, it's Baddour that refuses to give findings of fact when requested and required under Rule 52(b). He takes it as an attack on his robe-wearing authority and simply fails to include it in his order, although Rule 52(b) demands it. Next if an attorney moves Baddour to find that a pro se litigant filed a lawsuit or a motion to harass or for some other improper purpose, Baddour will so find EVERY TIME! Unfortunately, under the law, this rubber stamp ruling should be very hard to find, if Baddour was following the law. A review of his survival guide goes into great detail about pro se litigants but is curiously absent two critical elements. First, most courts recognize that they have an absolute legal duty to treat pro se litigants with special consideration; and must, BY LAW, treat pro se pleadings liberally. CONLEY v. GIBSON How could a judge draft a purported Pro se Litigants: An Update and a Survival Guide, without even mentioning the most critical element dealing with the protections for pro se litigants? Answer: Baddour views pro se litigants as a bother...an affront to his power as a judge over the big powerful attorneys that appear before him. That he has to deal with an unrepresented litigant simply upsets the power struggle going on inside his head. Finally, a review of the sample gatekeeper order within his Survival guide, written in 2010, includes a date: December 8, 2008. In a subliminal consciousness of guilt, that was the exact date when Baddour announced from the bench that he was aware the pro se litigant had publicly called for his election defeat, but still heard the case! Not exactly ready for his close-up Mr. Demille. Show Baddour the Door!

Judge Allen Baddour is a Sexual Predator's

Get Out of Jail Free Card?

Superior Court Judge "Richard" Allen Baddour, Jr. ruled that two parts of a North Carolina general statute aimed at protecting children from child molesters are unconstitutionally vague and unconstitutionally overbroad. Baddour said in his opinion the statues infringe on the constitutionally protected right to worship. However, Baddour failed to address why child molesters could not simply worship at the overwhelming number of churches that do not provide on-premise childcare. His decision came after authorities arrested registered sex offender James Nichols for attending a Baptist church outside of Raleigh because the church provided on-premise childcare. The statute says offenders must stay 300 feet away from any area intended for the use, care of supervision of minors and any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled events. This myopic view of the law, together with his insensitivity for the rights of the less powerful in our community; and his willingness to violate campaign finance and tax laws has fueled calls for him to step down or be replaced. Rumors that Baddour tends to support some critical elements of sharia law don't seem to have entered into his decision, insofar as even those who support sharia law, understand the importance of barring child molesters from having access to our children. Although Baddour has small children and lives within 5 miles of 6 registered sex offenders, he seems to believe playing Russian roulette with our children's' safety is an acceptable part of his job description. Someone needs to tell Baddour that this is North Carolina, not Penn State! Show Baddour the Door!

Jim Crow- Black Witness

The Plaintiff repeatedly informed Judge Baddour that the Defendants were covering up a criminally negligent homicide. All the Defendants had to do (over several years) was to simply laugh and say "Your Honor, this case isn't about that at all. It's about the Plaintiff saying bad things about us on the Internet!" Baddour never said "Let's get the witnesses and the documents in here and see who is lying and if anyone was really killed!" He simply dismissed the Plaintiff's case with that disgusted "How dare he accuse these good people" look on his face. Baddour poked the bear with the stick. He was repeatedly asked to recuse himself, but like most bullies, he relished in his power to abuse the Plaintiff without Court TV showing the world. Now WE won't recuse until he's off the bench!

Outlier Magazine joins BlueNC

Aah Haah!

While investigating Resident Superior Court Judge Richard Allen Baddour, Jr. (hereinafter "Dick Jr." or "Little Dick" or "Little D") I came across something most telling. I first appeared before Little D in 2007. There I was telling him "Your Honor, these guys created a hostile work environment, stole evidence from a courthouse file, are covering up a homicide, etc." Little Dick not only didn't give a crap, but seemed pissed that I was even there. At the time I chalked it up to racism or Napoleon syndrome, or whatever. However, I discovered a NC Court of Appeals decision that listed his daddy, former Director of Athletics, Richard "Dick" Allen Baddour, Sr (hereinafter "Dick" of "Big Dick") as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by a female student alleging some of the same issues: hostile work environment, etc. Some of the language is exceptionally disturbing (ie: a coach asking a female student "Who are you f*cking?). Question is, in light of his daddy having to face these kind of charges during that period, was Little D predisposed to use his new found power to screw Plaintiff's with similar causes of action? It may not be that Freudian. He simply may have been raised by Big Dick, to be less sensitive to issues of hostile workplace issues. The scandal that eventually caused Big Dick to resign this year didn't necessarily stem from the above mentioned incident, but from other ethical lapses associated with the sports program and students. Big D had the stones enough to resign. After discovering he has willfully failed to pay his property taxes to the tune of $7,665, and is under investigation by the State Board of Elections for violations of campaign finance disclosure laws, we call on Judge Baddour to show some character and do the same. RESIGN!

In North Carolina, judges are elected to 8 year terms. Therefore, our only opportunity to get rid of the bad ones is during the election process. Superior Court Judge Richard Allen Baddour, Jr. arrogantly bends and breaks the judicial rules of conduct with no consideration of how his decisions affect the lives of those before him. Earlier this year the litigants met to address criminal contempt for failure to pay a judgment. As the criminal defense lawyer began to speak, Baddour declared that despite the previous judge's order to show cause as to criminal contempt, he was going to decide this as civil contempt! Despite the people of North Carolina having to pay a criminal defense lawyer to represent an indigent litigant, he was going to decide this as civil contempt. Despite the movants' failure to obtain a Show Cause Order, he'd let them get a do-over and come back later in the month. (gotta help a buddy out you know!) Despite the evidence being an affidavit sworn by Partrick, and he not being in attendance to be cross-examined, Baddour granted the Show Cause Order. The attorney, having been licensed only 6 months, arrived to defend criminal contempt. Baddour tells him, "argue both criminal and civil!" Unprepared, he did the best he could. The elements of criminal contempt were not present, so Baddour wanted to go with civil contempt! Surprise, Surprise...he finds the Plaintiff (he kept saying "Defendant"...telegraphing his mindset) guilty of willfully failing to pay the judgment, despite the fact the judgment had been on appeal and despite the fact the litigant had paid a partial payment after his appeals had been exhausted. When the attorney brought this to Baddour's attention, he agrilly stated "You didn't show me any evidence of a payment!" The attorney coward instead of saying "You can ask Mr. Kesler here if he received a payment!" Baddour ruled, gave the Plaintiff 45 days in jail (stayed) and ordered he begin making payments within 4 days. Essentially, the Plaintiff was found guilty of having the nerve to appeal a judgment! As they left the courtroom, Kesler, smiling, quietly handed the Plaintiff his previously sent money order back. During the time of that extra-judicial disgrace, Baddour, owed over $7,000 in UNPAID taxes! His financial challenges known, only to the state, himself and his family, but when faced with litigants that come before him with even more significant financial sitiuations, he exercises an extreme double standard and does so with the arrognace that masks what should be a knowing solidarity. Baddourisms: If a person is 50% disabled, then he is 100% able bodied half of the time! Huh? If a landlord let you pay rent late last month, due to a unexpected hardship, but you had to pay that rent together with this month's rent...then that means the landlord will let you go for 6 months without paying, while you pay a judment. WTF? This must be that fuzzy math we hear so much about. We have to wait until 2014 to relieve ourselves of this burden, but we need to begin now to get out the word! Show Baddour the Door!

Didn't this guy take an oath to uphold the freakin law?

As previously stated, Judge Richard Allen Baddour, Jr. owes over $7,660 in property taxes. However, a review of tax records reveals that he has a consistent pattern of paying his vehicle taxes late. Although these late payments were made within a few days or weeks of when they were due, Baddour signed an order that makes a payment due on the 5th of each month and if not received by that date, he authorized the Yates crowd to call the sheriff and have the indigent disabled veteran arrested. Not go into court and state that there had been a breach, but actually gave these attorneys the power of immediate arrest! Double down on his double standard! Looky Here!

What's Going on in This guy's head?

A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision highlighted Judge Baddour's "I got mine, the hell with the rest of you " attitude on Civil Rights. In a reversal of his ruling in the case of Earp v. Quinlan, the Appeals Court ruled that Baddour, true to his history in these kinds of cases, erred when he dismissed the plaintiff's claims of civil conspiracy to interfere with her right to work and her civil-obstruction-of-justice claim against one defendant. If he is going to constantly be a rubber stamp for big law firm litigants, why doesn't he just hold court from his neighborhood Kinkos and we can just mail the case to him. At least then we wouldn't have to endure watching him pretend to reach a reasoned decision. SIDE NOTE: When appearing before him, if a lawyer needs to hand him a document and asks "May I approach?", he says "yes." But if a pro se litigant (especially African American) asks the same thing, he tells them to hand it to the bailiff. He still is afraid of getting his lunch money taken like in school. This guy has got to go. In a recent paper he wrote for other judges, he lays out his fear of pro se litigants. Baddour wrote:
If you are this afraid of pro se litigants, that you have to alert the 60 year old bailiff, that he may have to rescue you, put your big girl panties on and get another job. You cannot be fair to both sides when you hold such fear and disdain for one side and such admiration for the other! Show Baddour the door!

When In Doubt: Follow The Money! Why is this man smiling? We think we Know!

As part of our investigation into Superior Court Judge Richard Allen Baddour, Jr. (Dick's son) we uncovered some questionable irregulaities in how he prosecuted his campaign. In February of 2006 the KEEP ALLEN BADDOUR SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE Campaign ceritified Sherrill Toler Murrell as it's Treasurer. In July of that year they filed a Financial Disclosure Report that listed as the Financial Institution [10 a.] SUNTRUST BANK. In October of 2007 Murrell left the campaign, presumbably to spend more time with her family (wink, wink, knod, knod) and Baddour appointed himself as Treasurer. Although the practice is allowed, it is generally not wise to do because of the time, effort and knowledge it takes to do it correctly without getting yourself a long prison term. And what do you know, Baddour screwed it up and was fined a penalty from the State Board of Elections for not filing his Semi Annual Report on time. They gave him a break and waived the $400 fine though! However, several documents filed by Candidate/Treasurer Baddour after he became Treasurer, listed as the Financial Institution [10a.]KEEP ALLEN BADDOUR SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE; and no longer SUNTRUST BANK. Therefore, at best Baddour screwed up the form by simply failing to mention the name of the bank, at worst he committed a serious election law violation by holding on to the cash and commingling it with his own. If this is what he did, he could be sitting in a cell right next to some of his victims...I mean Defendants. A Complaint has been filed with the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

§ 163-278.8. Detailed accounts to be kept by political treasurers.

(h) The treasurer shall maintain all moneys of the political committee in a bank account or bank accounts used exclusively by the political committee and shall not commingle those funds with any other moneys.

A WILLFUL Double Standard!

157 West Street, Pittsboro, NC

416 SMITH AV CHAPEL HILL NC 27516

An extensive investigation into Judge Baddour found, inter alia, some financial red flags! As of 2006, North Carolina Superior Court judges were paid $115,289. The state, like the federal government, offers attractive benefits to judges, but even so, it is worth asking whether judicial salaries in North Carolina are too low to attract the best possible talent and to be a deterent to ethical misbehavior. A bit of context provides food for thought. The average North Carolina worker earns $38,230 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of the attorneys that appear before him make just over $113,000, but first-year associates at the largest law firms (ie: Yates, McLamb & Weyher) now make $160,000 per year. Baddour purchased his home in Pittsboro for around $152,000 in May of 2003. The market value of the home now is around $208,000. Currently he owes $ 2,069.21 in taxes on his home and nothing currently on his 2007 Honda Pilot. His home in Chapel Hill, however is worth around $486,000 for which he is delinquent in his tax payment of $7,662.96. His tax status is listed as UNPAID since September 1, 2011. I get very concerned when public officals with this kind of power are strapped for cash! Last month Baddour sentenced a man that he had adjudicated as indigent, to 45 days in jail (stayed) for not being able to pay a $1,270 judgment. Although indigent and disabled, Baddour found the man had nevertheless "willifully failed to pay." Currently, Judge Baddour has failed to pay $9,732.17 in taxes that are due and overdue! Insofar as he makes a pretty good living by North Carolina standards, his failure to pay his taxes on time can only be viewed as WILLFUL. One orange jump suit in an extra small please!

Judge Stephen’s administrative responsibility (NCGS 7A-105)
Judge Donald Stephens, the superior court judge in residence is responsible for firing court clerks for using and certifying fake court documents per North Carolina General Statue GS 7A-105). But instead, he continues to cover it up, a crime that violates both state and federal statutes. (See home page for full story).

Removal of clerk [GS 7A-105] — The senior resident reviews charges made for removal of the clerk of court, decides whether to suspend the clerk pending a hearing, and conducts the hearing to decide whether to remove the clerk. If the clerk is suspended, the senior resident appoints a temporary replacement.

A Wake County judge is refusing to lift his order sealing documents in the Kathy Taft murder case, despite an appeal by attorneys representing a consortium of North Carolina media outlets.



"I'm not going to strike my order, vacate my order or modify my order," Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens said after listening to arguments that the recording and documents are public records that deserve to be seen.



For investigators, the decision is what they say they need.



"There is still forensics work being done -- still detectives visiting the scene making certain they are doing everything we can," Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan said. "We have a one-time opportunity at that crime scene, and we're making sure everything is checked as thoroughly as we can." However, the chief all but admitted his detectives still have no suspects in the case.



"The department is saying that we can not rule out that it's a random act. ... If I had further information about any suspect that I was looking for -- if I had a sketch, if I had any information -- I would have already provided it to you."



For some who live in the neighborhood, the uncertainty about the case is becoming unnerving.



"I hope they figure out what's going on very soon so we can go back to being a quiet neighborhood and street," area resident Gillian Bowling said.



It was that kind of concern from the public that was part of the argument media attorneys used unsuccessfully on Judge Stephens, asking that some information from the Taft 911 calls or search warrants be released in a limited fashion to allay the public's worries.



"Look at the 911 call, look at all the contents, look at the search warrants and affidavits and all the contents and parse them to release as much as you can and redact the rest," media consortium attorney Hugh Stevens said.



The judge disagreed, saying he was going to err on the side of caution and public safety in siding with law enforcement to temporarily seal the material.



But Judge Stephens also said if Wake County District Attorney Colin Willoughby seeks an extension of that request after 30 days, the judge will have "harsh questions" for Willoughby about why that information is still being kept from the public.

The August Pinch Flat Award goes to ….Judge Donald Stephens

North Carolina Judge Donald Stephens earned this award for sentencing a cyclist-killing, felony-assaulter to teetotaling.

I’ve been putting a lot of thought lately into the appropriate charges for drivers hitting cyclists, but I should be just as concerned about the sentencing. In Brian Reid’s case the charges were right but the sentence was a ‘slap on the wrist’. Reid killed cyclist Nancy Leidy while driving home from class at NC State after a night of celebrating his 21st birthday. He blew a .12 on the Breathalyzer. The charges were appropriate; felony assault by motor vehicle. The sentencing last week by Judge Stephens was a joke; community service, 5 weekends in jail and teetotalism (really, he was sentenced to teetotalism).

Perhaps if you think ‘giving up drinking’ is a harsh enough penalty for such a crime…alcohol must be a pretty important thing to you.

Perhaps, just to be safe, judges with psoriasis, discoid eczema or superficial infections, common in heavy drinkers, should be barred from presiding over cases that involve alcohol – just to be safe.

How would Charlotte citizens react to ‘slap on the wrist’ sentence for a drunk student that killed a cyclist? Would they be outraged? Or would they sympathize with the student’s drunken rite-of-passage and not understand why the cyclist was in the road in the first place

charlottevelo.com

This Old State
Jack Betts on North Carolina people, politics,
history, environment, culture and books

Read more: http://jackbetts.blogspot.com/2009/07/ticking-off-judge.html#ixzz1chlhsP5A

Thursday, July 16, 2009
Ticking off the judge

Wake County school board member Ray Margiotta didn't think much of the deal when former House Speaker Jim Black, serving a five-year-plus sentence in federal prison, was allowed to pay off half of a $1 million fine with the transfer of some land he used to own in Matthews. Margiotta is certainly entitled to his views, which no doubt were shared by a great many people who thought Black ought to have paid off the entire $1 million fine in cash.

Margiotta especially didn't like the arrangement because Wake County schools, the recipient of the proceeds after Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens levied the fine in 2007, got $500,000 in cash and the Matthews property assessed at $613,000. Margiotta noted that the Mecklenburg tax valuation was a fraction of that, about $149,000, and complained that the appraisal had been arranged by Black's family.

"We've got an appraisal done for a criminal," he had said earlier. "Give me a break."

Margiotta was exercising not only his First Amendment right to say what he thinks, but also his right to royally tick off the presiding judge.

As the News & Observer's Rob Christensen reports, Stephens was "livid at the remarks and summoned a Wake County School Board attorney to his court room to be chewed out. The judge called the remarks 'idiotic' and noted that he had not been obligated to levy any fine against Black."

Christensen wrote, "'It's like giving your daughter a Toyota and her saying,"Dad, I'd rather have a BMW,"'Stephens said. The judge said he would have to give serious thought to whether he would levy fines in the future that would benefit the Wake County school system."

Stephens made his remarks about the fine at a hearing in Raleigh Thursday morning in which he ruled that Black can serve his state sentence concurrently with his federal sentence -- but that even if Black gets time off from his federal sentence, he'll have to continue serving his state sentence.

AP Reporter Gary Robertson noted in his story today that Stephens said, "If that occurs, I will not reduce this sentence." The judge added, "He'll have to go to the governor to have it reduced."
Posted by Jack Betts at 2:56 PM
5 comments:
Anonymous said...
Finally - someone who will point out how arrogant Judge Stephens has become. It's time to remove him from a place of power in our community.

July 17, 2009 11:08 AM
Anonymous said...
Judge Stephens ego has grown with his power. Someone needs to take note of this and really see if he is what the state needs. Who oversees these guys.

July 18, 2009 9:19 AM


Read more: http://jackbetts.blogspot.com/2009/07/ticking-off-judge.html#ixzz1chlYtaHt

This article was printe last year by a reporter:
Honest, judge, we’re on our best behavior
I don’t mind being threatened by government types every once in a while. It gets the blood pumping and has happened often enough over the years is amuses me more than anything else at this point.

Advertisement Advertise with Us But most public officials have the common courtesy to deliver their threats in person, or at least through an appropriate taxpayer-funded lackey, rather than sending their pronouncements through a working journalist.

Such courtesy was not extended during the run up to Gov. Mike Easley’s plea hearing Tuesday. Here’s what happened.

Various scruffy media types from around Raleigh and beyond were gathered in courtroom 10C at the Wake County Courthouse. About 15 minutes before Easley’s hearing is set to begin at noon, one of the cameramen says that somebody has requested said scruffy media types to assemble in the courtroom next door.

When we arrive, Ed Crump, (link) a reporter for the Raleigh ABC affiliate delivers the following lecture to his colleagues:

Crump started by saying he called us because, “Judge (Donald) Stephens, who for those of you who don’t know, is the senior resident superior court judge and basically god of the courthouse, knows me and Chad, he asked us to talk to all of you all of you all and say that he is the one who enabled us to have cameras in here – obviously reporters can be in here no matter what he says. But he’s very concerned about the sanctity of the courthouse. He particularly does not want photographers chasing Easley down stairwells. He said he can hold you in contempt in this courthouse and on the immediate grounds, the front steps, the back steps, and he will do that. And he…”

At this point, I interrupted and said something like … let me check the tape … yup, I said: “Why doesn’t he have the balls to deliver that message himself?”

Crump replied, “You can ask him if you like. I’m just imparting what he said.”

And therein lies the problem.

The judge’s message is condescending at best. He assumes that a group of professional reporters is going to act like a bunch of feces-flinging monkeys. He also is delivering a couple different threats. Aside form the contempt warning, we got an additional warning from Crump that Stephens made decide to change the “general rules for the courthouse” for everyone if things were to go badly. In essence, he was saying that North Carolina’s supposedly open courts could get a little less open if Stephens doesn’t like how we conduct ourselves.

Judges, particularly senior resident superior court judges, have latitude to say stuff like that. It doesn’t make it right, but he’s a judge and can condescend all he wants.Reporters suck it up, act professionally, and go about our business to get the job done.

Stephens does lose style points for not delivering the message himself or at least having one of the imposing-looking sheriff’s deputies on hand give us the warning. Heck, the elected sheriff for Wake County was in the courthouse and probably would have been a lot less ham handed. Stephens also loses a few credibility points because I happen to know that Easley was pursued after the hearing by reporters – who may have happened to have cameras but weren’t strictly speaking photographers – from the courthouse to little or no ill effect. (No, I wasn’t one of them.)

But Crump should know better.

He made himself an agent for the Court in general and Stephens in particular. It is one matter to cooperate with the courts to set up orderly pool feeds for trials – as WRAL kindly does much to the relief of my friends in the electronic media. It’s quite another to deliver the threat of judicial citation, jail time and a potential bar to doing one’s job. Crump should have handed that task, respectfully, right back to the judge.

As professional journalists, it is unseemly and unprofessional to communicate threats on behalf of the people we’re supposed to be covering. There’s a not-so-fine line between being friendly and respectful toward your sources and being co-opted by them.

Posted by Mark Binker on Tuesday