Rules of Conduct Created for North Carolina Magistrates

Following years of discussion and drafts, a formal Rules of Conduct for Magistrates was promulgated by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) effective October 1, 2021. Statutory Authorization In June, Session Law 2021-47 Section 13.(a) authorized the AOC to prescribe rules of conduct for all magistrates via a new G.S. 7A-171.3. It said that the rules of conduct shall include rules governing standards of professional conduct and timeliness, required duties and responsibilities, methods for ethical decision making, and any other topic deemed relevant by the AOC.  History Historically, magistrates have been subject to the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct as officers of the court in theory, though not everyone has agreed that the Code was directly applicable to magistrates. Confusing the issue further, the NC Judicial Standards Commission is not authorized to hear complaints about magistrates or clerks of court, among others. So, while the Judicial Standards Commission oversees ethical issues for North Carolina trial and appellate judges, no similar body has been in place for magistrates. That is not to imply that magistrates have not had an ethical code. Knowledgeable experts, including my SOG faculty colleague Dona Lewandowski and Joan Brannon before her, have taught and advised magistrates and other court officials for decades that magistrates should be guided by the Code of Judicial Conduct where it is relevant to their work. Statutory Framework for Suspension or Removal G.S. 7A-173 provides that the grounds for suspension or removal of a magistrate are the same as for [...]