CHARLOTTE — Former Mecklenburg District Judge Bill Belk, 64, who in 2010 received a lifetime ban from serving as a judge by the N.C. Supreme Court, may face additional disciplinary action — including the loss of his law license — pending the outcome of an Aug. 23 disciplinary hearing stemming from an investigation by the North Carolina State Bar, the state agency that regulates attorneys.

Friday’s hearing at the state bar’s office in Raleigh will be conducted by a three-member panel of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission, an independent tribunal that considers all contested disciplinary cases. The commission is composed of lawyers appointed by the state bar and non-lawyers appointed by the governor and the General Assembly. Each panel has two lawyers and one non-lawyer.

It will be the third time in more than four years Belk has faced discipline by a state agency monitoring members of the legal profession, even though none of the complaints involve actions he has taken as a judge or an attorney. In August 2012, the state bar’s Grievance Committee issued a reprimand to Belk based on an August 2010 judgment resulting from a civil action filed by his former wife. A Superior Court judge ruled that Belk had mismanaged some of the funds in a custodial account that he set up for their daughter. The issue central to Friday’s hearing (and his lifetime ban from the judiciary) is his continued service on the board of directors of Sonic Automotive Inc., while he was a judge.

Belk told Carolina Journal he has unfairly been singled out and that the disciplinary systems for judges and lawyers in North Carolina need to be reformed. He blames his troubles on a broken system and specifically on Paul Ross, executive director of the state’s Judicial Standards Commission, who initiated the first complaint against Belk in 2009.

Katherine Jean, counsel for the N.C. State Bar, said she could not discuss the particulars of Belk’s case with CJ while the proceedings were under way.

Sonic is one of the nation’s largest auto retailers, and Belk had been on the board since 1998. The N.C. Code of Judicial Conduct contains a provision that states a judge “should not serve as an officer, director, or manager of any business.” Belk maintains that the provision does not prevent judges from having such corporate ties; otherwise, the language would be “shall,” rather than “should.” He also noted that South Carolina allows judges to serve on boards so long as that participation does not conflict with the judge’s judicial duties or create the appearance of a conflict.

The state bar complaint alleges that in December 2008 Belk told Ross that Sonic was a source of Belk’s health insurance and he wanted to remain on the Sonic board because he had medical issues. The complaint also alleges he told the same information to a commission investigator during an interview in February 2009.

“Defendant engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in violation of Rule 8.4(c) and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice in violation of Rule 8.4(d),” stated the complaint.

Belk told CJ he did not lie to Ross or the investigator. In responses to commission and bar complaints, he said he wanted to remain on the board because he would be likely to get health insurance from Sonic if he served no more than one four-year term on the court. “While [I was] a judge I was receiving health insurance from the state and they should have known that,” he said.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Sonic, founded by NASCAR promoter Bruton Smith, did not offer medical insurance to board members, but Belk told CJ he believed he there was a possibility he could pursue health insurance through Sonic if he had no other health coverage. He had made a similar arrangement when he served on the board of directors of Monroe Hardware. Besides, Belk said, the state bar was more interested in forcing him to resign from the Sonic board rather than settling any uncertainty over what he had said about any medical benefits associated with Sonic.

Belk said he will defend himself at the hearing. Possible disciplinary actions include a dismissal of the case; the issuance of a warning, a reprimand, or censure; the suspension of his law license; or a permanent disbarment.

Short career on bench

In various 2008 media appearances, Belk said he ran for judge because he thought the court system was broken. His firsthand experience with District Court came from the contentious divorce from and property settlement with his first wife Suzanne Belk. They separated in 2001 but were tied up in court battles as recently as 2010.

Belk has a law degree but had spent most of his adult career working in management for Belk Department Stores, the company started by his grandfather William Henry Belk.

Belk was elected in November 2008, receiving 58 percent of the vote against incumbent Judge Ben Thalheimer, the judge who handled the distribution of property in Belk’s divorce.

Belk said he first learned about a potential problem with his service on Sonic’s board during a Dec. 5, 2008, training session Ross conducted for new judges. Belk researched the issue and concluded the Code of Judicial Conduct did not require him to leave Sonic’s board. When he discussed the issue with Ross, Ross said he would have to step down.

Seeking to clear up the matter, Belk sought advice from Judge Richard Bonner, who was a member of the commission at the time. Bonner suggested that Belk ask to present his side of the story at the commission’s January meeting by writing Ross and copying the commission’s chairman, state Appeals Court Judge John Martin.

But Belk didn’t get the opportunity to make his case. “As I was waiting for my request for due process, I was shocked and dismayed to see my file in the Charlotte Observer on Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. It was even more disturbing that Mr. Ross and Chief Judge Lisa Bell elected to provide statements to the media on what is a private and privileged matter, according to the Code of Judicial Conduct,” he told CJ.

One week after the story appeared in the Charlotte newspaper, Ross filed a formal complaint against Belk with the commission.

Belk resigned his seat on the bench in November 2009, citing a heart attack that he blamed on the stress of the public investigation into his conduct.

Even though he was no longer a judge, the Judicial Standards Commission did not end its proceedings against him. In April 2010, based on the commission’s investigation, the N.C. Supreme Court issued an order officially removing Belk from office as a judge, barring him from serving as a judge again. The order cited his decision to remain on the Sonic board and alleged that he used “intentional misrepresentations” to an investigator over the health insurance issue.

Mecklenburg County District Judge Lisa Bell filed a complaint with the commission on another matter in February 2009, but that and several other complaints ended without any findings or disciplinary action against Belk.

In 1973, the General Assembly established the Judicial Standards Commission as the state agency to consider complaints of misconduct against judges. After an investigation, the commission may recommend to the N.C. Supreme Court that a judge should be disciplined. The Supreme Court then reviews the case and dismisses it or establishes disciplinary action ranging from a public reprimand to removal from office.

The commission is made up of 13 members, five of them judges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The commission’s chairman must be a member of the N.C. Court of Appeals. The State Bar Council appoints four attorneys, and the governor and general assembly appoint four citizen members.

The N.C. State Bar is the state agency responsible for regulating the practice of law in North Carolina. The method of governance for the agency, specified in state law, calls for a “councilor” to be elected from among the licensed attorneys from each judicial district plus 16 additional members. Currently, there are 64 councilors. The council elects its president and other officers. It adopts its own rules and regulations including guidelines for conduct and discipline.

Don Carrington is executive editor of Carolina Journal.

Editor’s note: The original version of the story incorrectly identified the founder of Belk stores.