IN RE BRASWELL

The Judicial Standards Commission (Commission) notified Judge Jerry Braswell (respondent) on 11 March 2002 that it had ordered a preliminary investigation to determine whether formal proceedings under Commission Rule 9 should be instituted against him. The subject matter of the investigation included allegations that respondent presided over a hearing in the case of R. Walt Willingham and Nathaniel Willingham v. Interbay Funding, L.L.C. and David Craig as substitute trustee on 22 January 2002 in Onslow County when the plaintiff in that case had an unrelated lawsuit pending against Judge…