Outtakes from the Bill Belk hearing

Some points that didn't make the paper from Mecklenburg Judge Bill Belk's hearing before the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission Wednesday:

-- Over two days of hearing, Belk had blasted Paul Ross, the commission's executive director. Wednesday he accused him of bullying, being the source of leaks and acting in a way that was "not civilized." He also seemed to imply Ross was involved in a cover-up. Ross had previously described a February confrontation in which Belk accused him "of being a liar."

During a break Wednesday, Belk walked up to Ross. "I hope someday we could have a good relationship," he said. Though I couldn't hear all of Ross's response, he told him he'd offered "a lot of misinformation." He didn't look ready to add the judge to his Christmas card list.

-- At some points, it was hard to tell who was hard to tell who was on trial: Belk or The Observer. He criticized the paper for publishing stories as far back as January about his apparent conflict in staying on the board of Sonic Automotive, and listing his annual compensation from Sonic ($143,502.)

He accused the paper of "character assassination" and trying to foment "class warfare."

-- He pointed to an editorial after his November election that suggested judges be appointed, not elected. "A lot of people have used me as the poster boy of why we should have appointment of of judges," he said.

-- Belk insisted serving on the board of Sonic is no conflict. If Sonic ever showed up in court, he said, he would simply recuse himself. "I recuse myself from cases of shoplifting at Belk's," he said, "because I would probably try to hang them."

-- Belk seemed very confident that Sonic, run by his friend Bruton Smith, would provide him with health insurance when his current policy with Monroe Hardware expires in May. A Sonic spokesman said while there have been discussions, the company doesn't offer insurance to directors. "It has not been established yet," Belk acknowledged. "Should not be a problem."

-- Despite three opinions -- including one from the state Supreme Court --- that the Code of Judicial Conduct bars service on corporate boards, Belk seemed confident that it doesn't really. "All the case law is in my favor," he told the commission.... Let's be realistic. I did the research.... All I did was do my homework. How can you penalize somebody for knowledge?"

-- Belk tried to turn a prosecution witness into a character witness. Supreme Court Clerk Christie Speir Cameron testified about a letter she sent Belk on behalf of the court. "How long have we known each other?" Belk began. Cameron said she had only seen him "three or four times" in college.

-- District Judge Rebecca Knight, who helped coach new judges at a workshop in December, said she couldn't uunderstand why Belk had so many questions at the time about his membership on the board of Sonic. "I couldn't figure out why he wanted to be on the board of a hamburger restaurant," she said.

-- Belk said he suspected early that Chief Judge Lisa Bell didn't like him. "A dog knows when somebody doesn't like them," he said. "So does a human being."

Judge Bill Belk: 'I'm in it for the ride'

In his first interview about his unfolding case before the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission, Judge Bill Belk says the ordeal has been "painful."

Belk made his comments in a story published online today by The Charlotte Post. Defending his own actions, he criticized the commission for what he called leaks to the media and implied it had denied him due process. The commission charged him with violating a canon of the judicial code by continuing to sit on the board of Sonic Automotive.

“I went back, studied the canon, got legal advice and then I wrote a letter and asked what was the due process," he told the Post. "Really, this is all about due process because I didn't want to do anything behind closed doors. “I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing."

Belk has consistently refused to talk to the Observer about the case.

"The system has to be addressed," he told the Post. "We have a lot of good judges and attorneys and they don't like this either. I'm in it for the ride. If I have to go to every paper that'll listen, if I have to go to every church... The reason why we're here is we want balanced judiciary. It's been very painful to go through what I've gone through."

Belk story: An 'obvious hack piece?'

After my story on Bill Belk's campaign for district court judge ran Sunday, a friend forwarded this thread from a reader who obviously didn't like it.

The person -- identified only as "frumious bandersnatch" -- is looking for help in writing a letter to the editor. She calls herself a friend of Belk (after meeting him "a handful of times") and wants to correct what she sees a hack job.

So if you want to see how sausage (or a letter to the editor) is made, or if you have some advice for her, check out the link. To help her, leave any advice right here.