The Resistance Has A New Hero ... And It's Surprising

Well, someone in North Carolina has some ethics ...

Judge J. Douglas McCullough, in response to that power-grab by Republicans in the North Carolina legislature, has resigned his position in order to thwart GOP efforts to strip power from the recently elected Democratic governor.

Oh, and by the way, Judge J. Douglas McCullough is a Republican; and following McCullough’s sudden resignation, Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, was sworn in. 

This all came about because, once Democrat Roy Cooper was elected Governor last fall, the GOP-controlled Legislature has gone to great lengths to strip his office of power.

But, with just three sentences on a piece of paper, Judge McCullough has proven that not all Republicans are willing to goosestep along with the party.

You see, North Carolina has a mandatory retirement age for judges and so, to prevent Governor Cooper from appointing replacements for Court of Appeals judges nearing forced retirement, the Republicans passed a bill to shrink the size of the court from 15 to 12 judges—thereby denying Cooper the ability to appoint three upcoming replacements.

That legislation was vetoed by Cooper last week, but a veto override is expected later. And so that’s when McCullough went into action; before the legislature could vote to override Cooper’s veto, Judge McCullough resigned  ... 36 days prior to his scheduled forced retirement ... and this allowed Cooper to appoint a Democrat to the bench.

“I did not want my legacy to be the elimination of a seat and the impairment of a court that I have served on.”— Judge J. Douglas McCullough

In even better news, in addition to being a Democrat, newly sworn-in Judge John Arrowood is the first openly gay member of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

And you just know that GOP heads are exploding in North Carolina.

And you just know that we have a new member, and hero, of the Resistance, in Judge J. Douglas McCullough.

Thank you sir.

Raw Story