'Blind justice' doesn't mean blind to ethics rules

The saying, “Justice is blind,” refers to treating people equally under the law. It shouldn't mean being blind to the state's Code of Judicial Conduct. So we're glad to hear the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission is looking into the behavior of Mecklenburg District Court Judge Bill Belk. Judge Belk, elected in November, appears simply to be ignoring part of the code with which he disagrees: The ban on judges sitting on corporate boards of directors.

Belk is a director for Charlotte-based Sonic Automotive, and he has known since at least December that the judicial code forbids it. Yet he still hasn't resigned from Sonic – or from the bench.

In addition, according to charges from the commission, Belk was threatening and abusive toward Chief District Judge Lisa Bell, calling her a “political hack” and a “media hound” and telling her “you leave me the hell alone” during a confrontation in February after Bell refused him permission to take time off to go to a Sonic board meeting.

Belk – grandson of the founder of the Belk department store company – has a law degree and license but has never had a law practice. He apparently ran for judge because he got angry over his divorce (his wife was awarded more than half their joint estate) and how he was treated. His lack of experience is troubling. Further, the description of his confrontation with Judge Lisa Bell reflects a lack of an appropriate judicial temperament.

A judge who flouts ethics rules because he doesn't like them has no place in our state's judicial system. Neither does a judge who yells insults at the chief district court judge because she is respecting the state's judicial ethics code. Judge Belk needs to decide whether he'd rather serve Sonic or serve the public. He can't do both.