Ethridge could face criminal charges

James Ethridge, a district court judge who lost his law license because of his dealings with a senile retired school teacher before he became a judge, could now face criminal charges in the same case.

Tom Lock, former Johnston County District Attorney, said he asked the state Bureau of Investigation to review the matter before he left office on Dec. 29. Lock was elected a Johnston County superior court judge in the fall.

The N.C. State Bar stripped Ethridge of his law license in October after finding he was dishonest and deceitful when he took the home and life savings of Rosalind Sweet, a Smithfield resident who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Ethridge, elected to serve in Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties, hasn't been allowed to hear cases since October but is still on the state's payroll. Officials can't figure out how to get rid of him.

State law only enables two bodies to unseat a duly elected judge. The General Assembly could impeach him or the state's Judicial Standards Commission, which disciplines judges, could remove him.

But judicial standards officials said they only have the power to address matters occurring after a judge is elected. Only if Ethridge is convicted of a crime could the state's Judicial Standards Commission take up the matter, according to its executive secretary Paul Ross.