Advocating for legislation to change the way North Carolina selects its judges, Elon Law's Distinguished Jurist in Residence Jim Exum testified before a committee of the North Carolina Senate on April 28 and published an opinion column with North Carolina Bar Association past president John R. Wester in the Greensboro News and Record on May 1.
Exum and Wester serve as co-chairs of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Committee for Judicial Independence. Legislation crafted by that committee was introduced in the General Assembly on March 30. A report on that bill is available here.
In their May 1 column in the News & Record, Exum and Wester state of the proposed legislation, “Candidates would be thoroughly vetted based on professional qualifications and experience, demonstrated legal expertise, and possession of the core characteristics of a good judge. At the same time, the proposal would preserve the public’s power to vote on judges and remove them from office based on job performance.”
Click here for a March 20 Charlotte Observer column featuring Exum and exploring the merit of changes to the state’s judicial selection system.
Click here for a report on Exum’s appointment to co-chair the NCBA’s Judicial Independence Committee, including links to prior reports on his activities related to the reform of the state’s judicial selection system.
Click here for more information on Jim Exum, founding member of the Elon University Law School Advisory Board.