One of Sarah Stevens’ final bills in the General Assembly would give Chief Justice Newby even more unchecked power to influence the makeup of the judiciary. Under the law, Newby would have the ability to retaliate against or force out judges he disagrees with or who rule against well connected individuals. In North Carolina, where judges are elected, this would allow one person to override the will of the people. This would also replace “the existing measures [that] require approval from multiple other elected officials, not just the individual chief justice.”

This power grab comes as Chief Justice Newby is facing renewed questions about his judgement after it was revealed that he recruited a primary challenger to leading court candidate April Wood because she refused to attend a fundraiser at the home of  convicted child predator Harvey West. Unlike Wood, Sarah Stevens did attend Harvey West’s annual fundraiser during her court campaign and has Newby’s support.

Justice Newby has also raised considerable eyebrows and garnered national attention for making rulings in cases where he has serious financial interests, consistently in his favor.

“At a time where Republicans are already eroding the separation of powers in our state, North Carolina desperately needs judicial standards legislation that would create a fair and impartial review to ensure that judges of all levels are being held to the proper ethical standards. Instead of that, Sarah Stevens’ bill would sacrifice all appearances of impartiality to give predator-protecting Paul Newby even more power. Our court system is already far too partisan – the last thing the public needs is more reasons to distrust our courts,” said NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton.