How the NC House could expel Rep. Cecil Brockman if he doesn’t resign
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- Rep. Cecil Brockman faces multiple felony sex charges and remains jailed.
- Resignation requires a signed physical letter delivered to the House clerk.
- If Brockman won’t resign, House can expel him after formal charges and hearing.
A sitting North Carolina state lawmaker is charged with serious crimes and so far has not answered calls to resign from Democrats and Republicans.
Rep. Cecil Brockman, a High Point Democrat, is being held in the High Point Detention Center. The State Bureau of Investigation arrested him Oct. 8 on multiple felony charges: two counts of indecent liberties with a child and two counts of statutory sex offense with a minor who is 15 or younger, The News & Observer previously reported.
Lawmakers met the news with swift condemnation of the allegations and calls for his resignation, but have not announced plans to force him out.
Brockman made his first court appearance last week, which was virtual from a hospital. His bond was set at $1.05 million.
Brockman was in jail Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office told The N&O.
The House Clerk’s Office confirmed Wednesday afternoon that it had not received a resignation letter.
Here’s how the process works for Brockman to resign, and if he doesn’t, how the legislature could remove him from office.
The process for resigning from the General Assembly
If Brockman were to resign his seat, a physical letter — printed out, not via email — must be signed by Brockman himself and delivered to the House clerk, House Speaker Destin Hall or Gov. Josh Stein. The clerk’s office recommends resignations be sent directly to the clerk’s office.
Brockman’s situation is more complicated because he’s in jail. The clerk would have to confirm, likely through Brockman’s lawyer, that he wanted to submit the resignation letter.
Once the clerk receives the resignation letter and time-stamps it, the resignation is effective immediately unless the letter includes a certain date.
If Brockman resigns, a replacement would be chosen by a group of Democrats in his district and then appointed by the governor to the seat.
How the NC legislature can expel a lawmaker
If Brockman does not resign, lawmakers could remove him from his seat through a longer process.
The most recent state lawmaker to be expelled from office is former Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright of Wilmington, who was removed in March 2008 after being indicted for fraud and obstruction of justice.
An extra legislative session was called to expel Wright, who was removed for “unethical conduct unfitting and unbecoming a member of the House of Representatives,” according to legislative records.
The state constitution holds that “each house shall be judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members.”
In Wright’s case, the House passed a resolution requiring a two-thirds majority vote, then voted 109-5 to expel him, The News & Observer previously reported.
Wright was convicted of fraud a month later, and later that year he was also found guilty of obstruction of justice after failing to report $150,000 in campaign contributions over six years, keeping most of the money for himself, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
At least 14 lawmakers have been expelled since 1757, The N&O previously reported.
Before Wright, the most recent General Assembly expulsion was in the 1874-75 legislative session, though the House censured members in 1880 and again in 1996.
House Principal Clerk James White pointed to Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure for how the expulsion would be handled in North Carolina, including requiring due process.
According to Mason’s, the House can adopt any procedure it chooses for removal, though it would include “adequate notice, formal charges and a public hearing with the right to cross-examine witnesses.”
