Back in October, I wrote an article for Up and Coming Weekly about judicial redistricting. I argued the Republican majority in Raleigh was attempting to gerrymander judicial districts on racial lines to gain an advantage in the North Carolina courts. This will lead to further partisan and racial divide in a place that should, in theory, be free from racial bias and party influence. The Republican majority has yet to succeed in these redistricting plans, but they are now pushing forward with a different sort of power-grab.
The Governor of North Carolina has held the power to fill vacancies in our District Courts since they were first created by statute in 1965. A bill introduced in the House of Representatives will alter 50+ years of law and tradition.

