Magistrate Teresa Stokes, the last of a long line of judges to release DeCarlos Brown, Jr., a recidivist accused of murdering Iryna Zarutska, has a pretty eye-opening resume, one that implies that impartiality and the law really aren’t her thing. Having this type of person on the bench, releasing insane, repeat criminals onto the streets, is one more step in destroying Americans’ respect for the rule of law—and without the rule of law, civilized society collapses.
Rule 1.2 of the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct states that
A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
This is a good rule, because people will not accept the rule of law necessary for a civil society if they take one look at a judge and assume that he or she is untrustworthy or just unworthy. The rule applies to magistrates, too, since they act in a judicial capacity.
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North Carolina has a more abbreviated version of the same rule:
Canon 2. A judge should avoid impropriety in all the judge’s activities.
So, what’s the story on Teresa Stokes? Well, as Olivia Murray wrote, we already know that, along with her magistrate position, she runs a mental health and addiction clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
That alone raises an interesting question: How in the world could Stokes have missed that Brown was and is a complete whackadoodle?
When Brown appeared before Stokes in January, he was manifestly mentally ill:
In January 2025, Brown got in trouble with the police for making false emergency calls to 911, as well as being on or near Novant Health Property.
He told authorities during a welfare check that he was given a “man-made material” that controlled his basic functions, like eating, walking and talking.
According to an affidavit obtained by WSOC-TV, Brown wanted officials to investigate the “man-made material” in his body. After officers said they couldn’t help him, Brown was upset over their response and allegedly called 911, pushing officers to arrest him for misusing 911.
Brown was later released without bond after being charged with misuse of the 911 system.
At the time, this was Brown’s 14th arrest. He’d previously been arrested for things such as felony larceny, armed robbery, and communicating threats. He’d also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet Stokes released him into the community when he was quite obviously careening into another schizophrenic breakdown.
So, aside from being a businesswoman, what else is Stokes? Well, that’s where it gets interesting. Laura Loomer dug up some interesting receipts:
EXCLUSIVE:
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 9, 2025
Teresa Stokes, the DEI-appointed magistrate judge who isn’t even admitted to the North Carolina bar, and released DeCarlos Brown Jr. before he brutally murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, is married to a woman.
She’s a lesbian. But, not just any lesbian.… https://t.co/zllzOMTnqL pic.twitter.com/O8UWdWd6tb
Stokes was never even admitted to the North Carolina bar when she assumed her role as a magistrate. I haven’t been able to find evidence that she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan, either. She’s certainly not currently in the database.
Instead, Stokes and her “wife” used to own a halfway house fried chicken joint in Lansing, Michigan, as well as being owners and directors of Pinnacle Recovery, another mental health and addiction organization, this one in Lansing.
There is nothing on the internet that explains how Stokes ended up sitting as a judge magistrate reviewing criminal cases in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, it’s clear from interviews that Stokes’ sole focus is mental illness and substance abuse (she lost her brother and another relative to drug addiction).
One must assume that she views her role on the court not as applying the law, but as protecting addicts from the law. This is an untenable situation, and goes a long way to explaining why DeCarlos Brown, Jr., a mentally-ill recidivist, was traveling on Charlotte’s light rail with a big knife.
Our legal system cannot sustain judges like Stokes. They are just as bad as the leftist federal judges currently engaged in active lawfare against President Trump.
For over 3,000 years, going back to the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, the Western standard has been that judges should be people of probity, committed to justice, and able to rise above their personal biases and pecuniary interests. As Jethro told Moses, “[S]elect capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”
As long as we have judges who use the bench to advance their personal policies, civilized life in America will collapse.
(Note: Stokes is the last link in the chain, so she’s getting all the heat. The other 13 judges who left Brown on the streets deserve to be named and shamed, too.)