In a groundbreaking turn of events, the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission has officially closed its investigation into remarks made by Justice Anita Earls regarding the lack of diversity within the state’s legal system. The panel’s decision comes without recommending any disciplinary actions against the prominent Supreme Court Justice.
Justice Earls, a key Democratic figure and the sole Black woman among the seven-member state high court, declared the dismissal of the investigation during a statement released on Wednesday. In her announcement, she revealed the withdrawal of a federal lawsuit targeting the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, which she had initiated, accusing them of infringing on her constitutional right to free speech.
“I continue to believe that the First Amendment protects my ability to speak about matters of racial equity in the legal system,” Justice Earls asserted in her statement.
The lawsuit was prompted after the commission launched its inquiry following Justice Earls’ commentary to the legal news outlet Law360. In a June article, she addressed issues such as “implicit biases” among her colleagues, the underrepresentation of Black law clerks, and the disbanding of a commission examining racial and gender inequality by the court’s new conservative majority.
The Judicial Standards Commission, a 16-member body, notified Justice Earls in August of its examination into whether her comments breached the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. Specifically, they were investigating whether she violated Canon 2A, which mandates judges to conduct themselves “in a manner which promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”
While Justice Earls filed a lawsuit in August, claiming a violation of her First Amendment rights, U.S. District Judge William Osteen in Greensboro rejected her request for a preliminary injunction in November. The appeal of this decision was pending before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
With this latest development, the controversy surrounding Justice Earls’ critique of diversity within the North Carolina legal system appears to have come to a close. The case, titled Earls v. North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, et al, was situated in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The outcome marks a significant victory for Justice Earls and a crucial precedent in the ongoing dialogue about freedom of speech within the judicial system.
