Perdue faces late appointment

With one month left in office, Gov. Bev Perdue is pushing for a last-minute judicial appointment — but she is once again facing opposition from the Republican leaders with whom she battled throughout her term.

After veteran N.C. Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson resigned last week, Perdue decided to forego the judicial appointment process she had put in place.

Rather than leaving judicial appointments solely to the governor, Perdue signed an executive order in 2011 that formed a commission for appointing justices to the state’s highest court — a move designed to remove politics from the judicial selection process.

Now, Perdue says she plans to choose a replacement justice without the help of the commission.

When there is a vacancy on the court, the commission conducts interviews with candidates before recommending three for the governor to select from.

With the approaching holidays, the commission cannot complete its job before Perdue leaves office, Mitchell said.

But state Republican leaders have condemned Perdue’s decision.

“If she fails to follow her own rules and makes an 11th hour appointment, then it’s one more example of the rank hypocrisy soiling her legacy,” said N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Guilford, in a statement.

Steven Greene, a political science professor at N.C. State University, said the new appointment will have no effect on the ideological make-up of the court.

With Timmons-Goodson, the court comprises three Democrats and four Republican justices.

Greene said he suspects Perdue will appoint another left-leaning justice — meaning her choice will not affect the partisan divide in upcoming court cases on issues such as redistricting.

Robert Orr, a former N.C. Supreme Court Justice, said Perdue will look at a number of different qualities when selecting the new judge, including electability in 2014 and race.

Since Timmons-Goodson is the only African-American on the court, Perdue will likely choose another African-American to keep the court racially balanced, he said.

Orr said Governor-elect Pat McCrory will likely employ a different method of appointing justices, meaning the judicial commission would dissolve when he takes office.

“Once he is settled in and time has elapsed, he will likely focus on the best vehicle for picking and screening possible judges,” Orr said.

Greene said Perdue is tying up loose ends before her Republican successor takes office.

“She wants to get the appointment and doesn’t want to pass it off to Pat McCrory — and if that means bypassing her commission, that’s what she is going to do.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.