A censured judge is up for reelection for the first time since he was disciplined by the state’s highest court for contributing to a “toxic work environment.”
NC Court of Appeals election: Hunter Murphy vs Chris Freeman charlotteobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from charlotteobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
(Photo: Judge J. Hunter Murphy, North Carolina Judicial Branch)
The Supreme Court of North Carolina ordered the censure of Appeals Court Judge Hunter Murphy for enabling a “toxic work environment” in his chamber, in a disciplinary order reaffirming the Judicial Standards Commission recommendation Friday. The ruling was unanimous, with the exception of Justice Mark Davis, who did not take part in consideration of the matter.
Murphy, a Republican, hired his high school friend Ben Tuite as his executive assistant, the senior position on his three-person law clerk staff, after being elected in 2016.
It wasn’t before long that Tuite started bullying and harassing his coworkers, exhibiting a “pattern of making lewd or sexually inappropriate remarks in the workplace,” according to the court order.
NC judge receives rare censure for allowing harassment and threats in his office bakersfield.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bakersfield.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated December 19, 2020 9:43 a.m. EST
By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter
Raleigh, N.C. The state Supreme Court censured a judge on the state Court of Appeals this week, saying he hired his high school buddy, then turned a blind eye as the man belittled and sexually harassed law clerks in the office.
Judge Hunter Murphy s conduct wasn t bad enough to warrant suspension or removal from the bench, the state Supreme Court said in an opinion posted Friday, but it did merit censure.
Investigators from the state s Judicial Standards Commission heard from other employees that Ben Tuite, Murphy s assistant, repeatedly made profane and inappropriate comments, encouraged one employee to sabotage a former employee s career, lied, often didn t do his work and at one point got so angry that he slammed his hand down on a table hard enough to activate the attached panic alarm.