The North Carolina Republican Legislature did not expand the state Supreme Court in order to nullify the results of the 2016 judicial elections. That’s about the only attack on the independent judiciary that they have restrained themselves from pursuing. In almost every other circumstance for a decade, Republican legislators have sought to eviscerate judicial oversight of their reactionary agenda. The GOP takes literally the adage that legislators are the supreme branch of North Carolina government–and attempts to append that notion to make it so they are the only branch with meaningful power.
Worried about losing control of the court, Republicans attempted to replace open elections for North Carolina judgeships with what they called “merit selection.” In this scheme legislative leaders–guaranteed to be Republicans because of the state’s gerrymandering–would recommend a slate of three candidates to replace departing judges. The governor would then select from this menu of handpicked conservative jurists, the next North Carolina judge to take to the bench. GOP legislators attempted to implement this system repeatedly, stopped again and again by public and legal-community pushback. It was only the most blatant effort to take over the judiciary.
Republicans are now in the midst of an even more thuggish effort to intimidate North Carolina judges. Beating the drum from the NCGOP’s quasi-official media outlet Carolina Journal, former Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse “suggested” that Republican legislators could impeach Democratic Justices if the Supreme Court’s left-leaning majority were to determine that Republican Justices Tamara Barringer and Phil Berger, jr. needed to recuse themselves from upcoming gerrymandering cases. The threat was completely credible. Republicans have shown no compunction about bullying and emasculating the other branches of government when officials dare to stand in their way. Unfortunately, the Democratic Justices bowed before Woodhouse’s threats, and Berger and Barringer will get to rule on a case in which they both have clear conflicts of interest.
The GOP’s low regard for an independent judiciary comports with an overall rejection of the rule of law. Their record of judicially forbidden unconstitutional lawmaking is very prodigious. Ever since the Republicans took over state government, the courts, especially federal courts, have been the only reliable check on a legislature that is otherwise largely unaccountable. Rather than legislate more carefully or rethink their will to power, Republicans have instead opted to attack the judicial branch of government. A party that showily touts the majesty of the law when protesters attempt civil disobedience has little regard for the guardians of law and justice in North Carolina.
Since 2010, North Carolina’s Republican state government has inflicted damage on a range of critical public institutions. The University of North Carolina system and public education generally have received the most attention. But Republicans’ relentless battle against judicial accountability represents the most disturbing effort to gut liberal democracy yet seen. The North Carolina Republican Party seeks to rule the state unencumbered by judicial or electoral checks on their absolute authority. Given their success at intimidating the Supreme Court when gerrymandering is on the line, citizens should not underestimate the GOP’s prospects for success.
Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.
Terrifying.