Paul Newby; Or, Why North Carolina's Judicial System Is So Politically Corrupt

 

Some amazing and thorough investigative journalism by Doug Bock Clark in ProPublica, who spills all kinds of beans about North Carolina's Chief Justice Paul Newby. Did I say thorough! Clark and his team interviewed over 70 people who know Newby professionally or personally, including former North Carolina justices and judges, lawmakers, longtime friends and family members. "Many requested anonymity, saying they feared that he or his proxies would retaliate against them through the courts’ oversight system, the state bar association or the influence he wields more broadly. We reviewed court documents, ethics disclosure forms, Newby’s calendars, Supreme Court minutes, and a portion of his emails obtained via public records requests. We also drew on Newby’s own words from dozens of hours of recordings of speeches he’s made on the campaign trail and to conservative political groups, as well as interviews he’s given to right-wing and Christian media outlets."

The ProPublica reporters attempted numerous times to interview Newby and others in the judiciary, and what they got in one notable case is a promise of trumpian retribution if they didn't stop their digging. "When ProPublica emailed questions to Newby’s daughter, head of finance for the NCGOP, the North Carolina Republican Party’s communications director, Matt Mercer, responded, writing that ProPublica was waging a 'jihad' against 'NC Republicans,' which would 'not be met with dignifying any comments whatsoever .... I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter,” Mercer said in his email. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.”

Day-um!

1. Beware a Judge "On a Mission From God." Newby has said repeatedly that he believes God has called him to lead the court and once described his mission as delivering “biblical justice, equal justice, for all.” (We remember "biblical justice." It involved a good deal of stoning and summary executions.) Newby told the modest little story that back in 2004, when he made his first run for a seat on the Supremes, “I had a sense in my heart that God was saying maybe I should run.” He's got a rigid and uncompromising fundy streak. He speaks openly about how faith has shaped his administration of the courts, which included squashing diversity efforts and purging LGBTQ aides and assistants. "He’s packed higher and lower courts with former clerks and mentees whom he’s cultivated at his Bible study, prayer breakfasts and similar events." Before Newby squeaked out his win over Cheri Beasley in 2020 (by a margin of 401 votes), his wife Macon, a pretty accomplished conservative political activist in her own right, wrote to friends, asking for their prayers: “Paul, as a believer in Christ Jesus, is clothed in the righteousness of Christ alone,” her note said. “Because of that, he has direct access to Almighty God to cry out for wisdom in seeking for the Court to render justice.”

"His tendency to see people as either with him or against God has at times led to conflicts with political allies, associates and even relatives. That includes two of his four [adopted] children, from whom he’s distanced over issues of politics and sexuality."

2. Little Ruthless Dictator. In February 2023, with the newly installed 5-2 Republican majority on the Supreme Court barely sworn in (Republican judge candidates had swept the Nov. 2022 elections), Justice Phil Berger Jr., Newby’s right-hand man and "presumed heir on the court," circulated a draft of a special order Newby was engineering. He fully intended to do something unprecedented and highly controversial, rehear and reverse a case that had been decided just weeks before -- the outlawing of partisan gerrymandering that the previous Supreme Court, dominated by Democrats, had just ruled (giving North Carolina an independent redistricting plan that led to a 7-7 split in its Congressional delegation). Newby intended to overturn that, which he did, because he rules absolutely the other Republicans on the Court. He made the decision to rehear the case and then demanded that the other judges agree without debate and via email their assent to him in 24 hours. By email. No in-person judicial conference to consider such a momentous and clearly partisan move to invalidate the previous court's finding. Within the hour, the court’s Republicans all caved. "Its two liberal justices, consigned to irrelevance, worked through the night with their clerks to complete a dissent by the deadline." Newby then wrote a majority opinion declaring that partisan gerrymandering was legal and that the Democrat-led court had unconstitutionally infringed on the legislature’s prerogative to create electoral maps.

3. Newby's"Climate of Fear." What puts the "petty" in "petty little dictator"? Vindictiveness. Newby's power as chief justice allows him to promote or demote judges on lower courts. He decides who serves as their chiefs and who holds prestigious committee posts. Newby demoted or forced into retirement as many as nine senior judges with little public explanation; all were Democrats or moderate Republicans, and had clashed personally with Newby or his allies. Among the most notable was Donna Stroud, the Republican chief judge of the Court of Appeals, whom Newby removed after she was reported to have hired a clerk favored by Democrats over one favored by a fellow Republican justice. Newby replaced Stroud with a close ally, Chris Dillon. In 2022, after the Judicial Standards Commission’s longtime director clashed with Dillon about limiting judges’ political activity, she was ousted. Her replacement, Brittany Pinkham, swiftly led two investigations into alleged misconduct by Democratic Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, who had spoken publicly about Newby’s actions to end initiatives to address a lack of diversity in the court system. Newby had personally encouraged at least one of the investigations into Earls. 

Neither investigation resulted in sanctions, but judges said that, in combination with the firings and demotions, the probes conveyed a chilling message that Newby would punish those who crossed him. Several judges said they were intimidated to the point that it shaped how they did their jobs. Some said they or others had felt pressured to participate in prayers that Newby conducted at courthouses or conferences.

Judges and court staffers “are afraid of speaking out,” said Mary Ann Tally, a judge who retired near the beginning of Newby’s tenure as chief justice when she hit the statutory retirement age. Tally, a Democrat, said other judges had told her they were “afraid of Newby retaliating against them or that they would end up in front of the Judicial Standards Commission.” ProPublica spoke to more than 20 current or former judges who expressed fear that Newby or his allies might seek to harm their judicial or legal careers.

4. The Adoption Business. When Newby and his wife went looking for a fourth child to adopt, they found a pregnant teenager willing to have her baby and give it to the Newbys for adoption. "The child’s birth mother, Melodie Barnes, had split from her boyfriend after getting pregnant and, with the help of a Christian anti-abortion network, moved to Oregon, which then allowed mothers to put babies up for adoption without their fathers’ consent. Barnes’ ex disputed the adoption, obtaining a restraining order to halt the process. According to news reports, the Newbys and their lawyer were notified of this before the birth, but went forward anyway. They took custody just after the baby was born. Two weeks later, when a court ordered the Newbys to return the child to her father, they instead sought to give the baby to Barnes, someone who shared their evangelical beliefs. Soon after that attempt, a court order compelled Barnes to give the baby to her father." Eventually, the Newby's successfully adopted another baby girl.

The Newbys went on to start two adoption agencies, including Amazing Grace Adoptions, whose mission was to place children in Christian homes and save babies from abortion. In late 2021, Newby wrote an opinion in an adoption case involving Amazing Grace Adoptions. After he and his wife founded that agency, he had gone on to serve on the agency’s board of directors and touted his connection to it during his 2004 Supreme Court campaign. Yet he did not recuse himself from this case nor admit he had what looked like a potential conflict of interest. He did, however, rule in Amazing Grace's favor.

5. The Dark Money Nexus.  In his first reelection campaign in 2012, he was running against a Democrat with legendary connections, Sam J. Ervin IV. Ervin was said to be leading in the polls. He was relying on the $240,000 granted by NC's pioneering public financing system (long ago killed by the Republican General Assembly), while in the closing days of the campaign Newby's bank account grew $2 million from dark money contributions. "The cash funded waves of ads supporting Newby and blasting Ervin. TVs across the state blared what became known as the 'banjo ad,' in which a country singer twanged that Newby would bring 'justice tough but fair.' ”

6. Stealth Political Lobbying.  After the Red Wave of 2010 (the Tea Party election), Newby became a constant influence on Republican legislation coming out of the General Assembly. "His backchannel conversations with General Assembly members were 'openly known' among court and legislative insiders, one former lawmaker said." At Newby's behest, in 2013 the legislature did away with public financing for judicial candidates, making them reliant on private contributions and dark money groups. Legislators also passed another measure Newby favored, making investigations by the courts’ internal watchdog, the Judicial Standards Commission, secret and giving Newby himself veto power on sanctions and on whether cases became public. For Newby, it was revenge, for he himself had drawn the commission’s scrutiny for engaging in activities that undermined his impartiality, including attending a rally against same-sex marriage in his first year on the bench. With his new powers, Newby quashed disciplinary actions against two Republican judges who had admitted to egregious breaches of the state’s judicial code. The decisions to quash the discipline remained secret until ProPublica reported them. In 2016, Republican lawmakers handed Newby a third victory when they began phasing out nonpartisan judicial elections, making them all partisan contests.

7. When You're On a Mission From God, The Rules Don't Apply To You.  George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School spent about $14,000 to cover expenses for Newby and three of his Republican colleagues (Phil Berger Jr. was among them) to fly to Honolulu for a weeklong judicial conference held at The Royal Hawaiian Resort, a pricey beachfront hotel known as the “Pink Palace of the Pacific.” "The four NC judges went to lectures on conservative legal principles in the mornings, then enjoyed local attractions, from hot-tubbing to hiking, the rest of the day, according to a ProPublica reporter who was at the event. On the final evening, they attended an outdoor banquet lit by tiki torches that featured a whole roasted luau pig. Only one of the four — Berger — disclosed the trip in their annual judicial ethics forms, though the form directs judges to report gifts of over $500. Newby didn’t respond to questions from ProPublica about the trip or why he didn’t report it. The rules for judicial behavior also state that judges “may not personally make financial contributions” to candidates seeking elected office, but campaign finance data shows that Newby is among more than a dozen judges and judicial candidates who have ignored this prohibition. He’s made four such donations since 2008, including one in 2022, when he was chief justice." According to the Center for Public Integrity, he ruled at least six times in cases involving Duke Energy or its subsidiaries while he and his wife held stock in the company, always siding with it.