North Carolina State Bar v. Tillett

I fully join the majority opinion. The Constitution of North Carolina requires that the General Assembly “prescribe a procedure, in addition to impeachment and address set forth in this section ... for the censure and removal of a Justice or Judge of the General Court of Justice.” N.C. Const, art. IV, § 17(2). The constitution thus provides for only three methods to discipline sitting judges: impeachment, address, and “a procedure” prescribed by the General Assembly.

The procedure that the General Assembly has, in fact, prescribed establishes the Judicial Standards Commission (JSC) as the sole…