Suspended judge to continue his campaign for re-election

(The Stokes News) - Suspended District Court Judge Mark Badgett admitted Tuesday that he has made mistakes, but says he’s learned from them and is ready to move on; which includes no plans to abandon his re-election campaign.

"It doesn’t change anything," Badgett said of the 60-day suspension handed down Friday by the N.C. Supreme Court. During his time away from the bench in Surry and Stokes counties, he added, "I plan to campaign each and every day."

Badgett, a Pinnacle resident now completing his first four-year term as a judge in District 17B, was suspended in the wake of an investigation launched in the fall of 2006 by the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission.