NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 486

SENATE BILL 623

AN ACT ESTABLISHING PROCEDURE FOR CENSURE OR REMOVAL OF A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Article 30 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by inserting the following new section:

"§ 7A-378.  Censure or removal of a justice of the Supreme Court. — (a) The recommendation of the Judicial Standards Commission for censure or removal of any justice of the Supreme Court for any grounds provided by G.S. 7A-376 shall be made to, and the record filed with, the Court of Appeals, which shall have and shall proceed under the same authority for censure or removal of any justice as is granted to the Supreme Court under G.S. 7A-376 and G.S. 7A-377(a) for censure or removal of any judge.

(b)        The proceeding shall be heard by a panel of the Court of Appeals consisting of the Chief Judge, who shall be the presiding judge of the panel, and six other judges, the senior in service, excluding the judge who is chairman of the commission. For good cause, a judge may be excused by a majority of the panel. If the Chief Judge is excused, the presiding judge shall be designated by a majority of the panel. The vacancy created by an excused judge shall be filled by the judge of the court who is next senior in service."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 7A-376 is amended by deleting the words "justice or" from the first and second sentences of the section.

Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 30th day of April, 1979.