After a Republican lawmaker filed a confidential ethics complaint against North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat running to keep her seat on the state’s high court, her Republican opponent began running ads saying she was “under investigation” for her own ads attacking him on abortion.

Now, both sides are scrutinizing the other over what they see as potential unethical behavior, ranging from breached confidentiality to improper public statements.

The attacks, which now involve high-ranking members of the Legislature and the only statewide body responsible for judicial discipline, represent a significant escalation of tensions in the campaign between Riggs and her challenger, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin.

In a press release, Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue called the situation “yet another instance of Republicans using every tool at their disposal to politicize our courts and bend them to their will.”

Republicans, however, say that Riggs’ conduct improperly signals how she’d vote on an issue that may come before her court.

The initial complaint, filed earlier this month by state Sen. Buck Newton, a Wilson County Republican, alleges that Riggs violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct when she released an ad warning that Griffin could rule to uphold an abortion ban.

Newton told The News & Observer he saw this as “blatantly disregarding” the code by “staking out a position and mischaracterizing her opponent.”

Riggs denied having broken the code, writing on X: “I will not be intimidated by these Republican attacks on judicial independence and free speech. All voters deserve to cast an informed vote, which means knowing about my values and seeing the receipts on my opponent’s record.”

Complaints against judges go to the Judicial Standards Commission and are supposed to be confidential.

But last week, according to a campaign adviser, Griffin’s ad about Riggs’ potential ethics investigation started airing.

Then on Monday, Riggs posted a photo on social media of a letter circulated among Republican senators about the ethics complaint, which appeared to suggest lawmakers may take action against Riggs, such as impeachment.

“If judicial candidates are allowed to run campaigns on legislating from the bench, then we legislators will need to take action in the upcoming session to prevent such a breach of judicial conduct from ever happening again,” the letter, signed by Newton and state Sens. Amy Galey and Danny Britt, said.

Newton said his complaint was meant to be confidential and he was “disappointed that someone thought it was appropriate to publicize that, including Justice Riggs, but I guess she’s not afraid to do that.”

When asked his thoughts on the investigation first being publicized by Griffin in his ad, Newton said: “I don’t want to comment on ads.”

Riggs’ ad targets Griffin on abortion

The ad that formed the basis for Newton’s ethics complaint begins with Riggs saying that “as women, we should be in charge of our own reproductive health care.”

She says that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, wants to ban abortion with no exceptions and that her opponent “could decide if his ban becomes law,” as text on top of Griffin’s image says he “could be the deciding vote.”

The state’s Code of Judicial Conduct limits what political activity judges can engage in and prohibits them from speaking publicly on the merits of pending cases. This means judicial candidates usually refrain from speaking openly about issues that may come before them in court.

Griffin has also been criticized in the past for comments on abortion, though they were delivered in a judicial setting.

Last year, Griffin signed on to a Court of Appeals opinion stating that “life begins at conception.” That opinion was withdrawn by three judges, including Griffin, last November. In an interview with The News & Observer this year, Griffin said he was unable to provide details about why the opinion was withdrawn.

Griffin responds with ad targeting Riggs over investigation

Shortly after Newton filed the complaint, Griffin released his own ad calling Riggs a “radical liberal” who is “under investigation by the Judicial Standards Commission for her false ads.”

Press Millen, an attorney for Riggs, sent Griffin a cease-and-desist letter after the ad began airing, saying that it was false and the commission had not informed Riggs that she was the subject of a formal investigation.

Millen reminded Griffin that the commission’s investigations and complaints are confidential and said using any of that information to attack Riggs “would constitute an egregious violation of the commission’s rules in an effort to turn the commission’s deliberations into fodder for political attacks.”

Reached by text on Tuesday, Griffin said he is currently deployed with the National Guard for hurricane relief and is prohibited from engaging in political activity while on orders.

Paul Shumaker, an adviser on Griffin’s campaign, said Newton waived confidentiality when he sent his letter about the complaint to his colleagues in the Senate.

“How can any state commission have the ability to silence a person on their political speech?” he said.

Asked if complainants are able to waive confidentiality by publicizing their complaints, a representative for the Administrative Office of the Courts said: “All proceedings before the commission are confidential, and all papers and pleadings filed with the commission remain confidential unless the Supreme Court issues an order of public discipline, or in the case of disability, order of suspension or removal.”

Griffin’s ad goes on to say that as a civil rights lawyer, Riggs worked with liberal groups to push a “radical effort to promote full access for transgender children, efforts that may lead to transgender athletes competing in female sports.”

State Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat and former judge, said Griffin’s ad does exactly what Riggs is accused of doing.

“They don’t like her attack ads outlining her position on specific issues and then immediately Judge Griffin puts a TV ad out doing the same thing they’re accusing her of doing,” she said. “It just smells of politics and verges on being unethical.”

Shumaker said that Griffin’s ad does not take a position on transgender athletes in sports.

“It is carefully worded,” he said. “I lawyered up on every bit of this.”

Republicans appoint a majority of Judicial Standards Commission

If the Judicial Standards Commission does choose to investigate Riggs, the process will likely remain confidential unless the state Supreme Court decides to issue public discipline.

Republican lawmakers and the state’s Republican chief justice, Paul Newby, currently appoint a majority of members of the commission, which is made up of judges and other residents. The Democratic governor appoints only two members of the 14-member body.

Last year, the General Assembly eliminated the State Bar’s ability to appoint four members to the commission, giving those appointments to legislative leaders instead.

Justice Anita Earls, the only other Democrat on the Supreme Court, sued the commission last year over its investigation into public comments she made about bias in the judicial system.

Earls dropped her lawsuit after the commission ended its investigation and did not recommend disciplinary action against her.

In June, ProPublica reported that the state Supreme Court refused to discipline two Republican judges who admitted to breaking the code of conduct.

The Judicial Standards Commission had recommended public reprimands of the two judges, one of whom got into a courtroom argument with a defendant that led to a police officer shooting and killing the defendant, ProPublica reported, citing unnamed sources. But the court declined to do so.

Republicans control the Supreme Court, and will either keep or expand their 5-to-2 majority next year, depending on whether Griffin unseats Riggs.

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