In Raleigh, a trial judge’s 2020 order removing an elected court clerk from the job in Franklin County was vacated yesterday by a state appeals court, which raised procedural and constitutional questions about the sanction. The three judges on the Court of Appeals panel ruled unanimously to return the matter involving then-Franklin County Clerk of Superior Court Patricia Chastain to the county courthouse. Superior Court Judge Tom Lock removed Chastain because of numerous actions that “demonstrated a reckless disregard for the high standards of her office,” he wrote. *PHOTO from GoFundMe page.
