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22 février, 2008 13:59
Appellate Court Upholds Punishment of Judge Accused of Swindling Senile Woman
The Associated Press
02-22-2008
State appellate judges ruled Tuesday that the North Carolina State Bar did nothing wrong when it took the law license of a former judge accused of swindling a senile woman.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals said the bar didn't err when it determined James Ethridge had deceived Rosalind Williams Sweet into giving him, money and her, property.
Relatives have said Sweet, then 69, lived alone and was beginning to lose control of her mental capabilities when Ethridge began handling her affairs. She was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and declared incompetent by a judge.
Ethridge was disbarred in 2006, but he continued to collect a six-digit salary until he resigned three months later.
The appellate court panel determined that Ethridge kept some of the $14,000 the woman gave him in 2001. The Bar had also argued that Ethridge deeded the woman's home to himself.
Ethridge returned the property and some of the money after the woman's nephew hired an attorney to get it back.
Michael Reece, Ethridge's attorney, said Ethridge is deciding whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Reece said Ethridge was remorseful for the mistakes made while working with Sweet, but he said the circumstances didn't merit the loss of his law license.
"We thought disbarment was too harsh," Reece said, noting that the bar could have suspended or censured Ethridge.
Ethridge was elected a district judge in 2004 to serve Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties. He was on the bench when disbarred in 2006, but continued to earn his salary -- even though he was unable to hear cases, because the Bar couldn't remove him from the bench.
Ethridge eventually resigned in January 2007 as state lawmakers discussed whether they should impeach him.
