The state Supreme Court suspended
Randolph County Circuit Judge Jaymie Wilfong for the rest of her term without
pay in an order handed down Thursday afternoon.
In an opinion authored by Justice Menis
Ketchum, the court found Wilfong violated the code of conduct for judges 11
times in connection with a 26-month affair she had with Travis Carter, who was
at the time director of the North Central Community Corrections program.
Justice censured Wilfong on each of the
11 violations, suspended her through Dec. 31, 2016, and ordered her to pay all
costs with the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Judicial ethics prohibit Wilfong from
taking another job while she is suspended as a circuit judge, though she could
resign. The Supreme Court reduced the hearing board’s proposed $20,000 fine,
instead requiring Wilfong to pay $8,000 in prosecution costs.
