Judging Priorities--Ego!

The Legal Profession Blawg had a citation to a compelling opinion about former North Carolina Judge Bill Belk. That's Belk's commercial from his run for the Judgeship, presumably from which he has just been removed by the NC disciplinary authorities. 

Belk is a corporate mover and shaker, and NC judicial ethics requied that he recuse himself from various boards that he served on.  This did not sit well with Judge Belk (who is a nephew of Charlotte's former mayor and owner of Belk's Department Store)--and Judge Belk flouted the NC Supreme Court requirements in fact he openly defied Supreme Court established rules for the judiciary.  Judge Blek decided on his own accord that this Judging-thing really wasn't what he wanted to do after all;  and, he quit the job mid-term.

The disciplinary opinion is remarkable in the sense that it accuses Belk of all sorts of dishonesty, lying to judicial authorities, and showing disrespect to other Judges, but apart from "removing him from the bench" the disciplinary  opinion takes no other action.  You might be excused from wondering if Judge Belk's apparent political and financial "juice" stayed the hand of the NC Supremes....nah, that never happens.