North Carolina General Assembly ratified bill letting Chief Justice suspend trial judges without pay

On August 6, 2026, North Carolina's Republican-controlled General Assembly ratified House Bill 377, titled the "2026 Court Changes" act, giving the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court sole authority to suspend a trial court judge without pay while the Judicial Standards Commission investigates a complaint against them. The House adopted the conference report reconciling the House and Senate versions on August 5 by a 62-45 vote, following the Senate's 26-11 adoption on July 29; the bill was presented to Gov. Josh Stein on August 7. Stein's office said North Carolina would be the only state in the country to give a single chief justice that power.

The bill continues a decade-long pattern in which the Republican-controlled legislature has curtailed elected officials' and voters' control over the judiciary, including making judicial races partisan, restricting the governor's ability to fill judicial vacancies, and taking over all four of the nonpartisan State Bar's appointments to the Judicial Standards Commission. The Commission that recommends a suspension is itself appointed almost entirely by the Chief Justice and legislative leadership, and its proceedings -- including which judges face investigation and why -- are kept confidential.

House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, wrote in social media posts before and after the bill's passage that he wants Chief Justice Paul Newby to use the new power against judges who release people accused of violent crimes on bail, writing that "actions have consequences." Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey, a former Durham County judge, warned during floor debate that the power "is going to be used to retaliate" against judges. No Republican legislator responded to Democrats' warnings during House or Senate debate, and the state courts system that GOP lawmakers said requested the bill did not respond to requests for comment.

Updates

2026-08-17 — Gov. Stein vetoed House Bill 377 [4]

On August 17, 2026, Gov. Stein vetoed House Bill 377, saying it "would have a chilling effect on judicial independence" and comparing it to legislative leaders lacking power to suspend duly elected legislators. Speaker Hall said he intends to seek a House override; the earliest the General Assembly can take an override vote is August 31, 2026, when it reconvenes.