House Republicans from North Carolina have called for the dismissal of Mecklenburg County Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who released Charlotte stabbing suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. after a previous arrest despite his “history of violent and unstable behavior.”

The 10 House Republicans asked Chief Judge Roy Wiggins of North Carolina Judicial District 26 to initiate proceedings under a state law permitting a magistrate to be removed for cause, including “willful and persistent failure” to perform duties and conduct bringing the office into “disrepute.”

Court documents show that Magistrate Stokes allowed Mr. Brown to go free on a “written promise” to reappear shortly after he was arrested in January for “misuse of the 911 system,” charged with calling officers to report “man-made” materials in his body.

The January count was a Class 1 misdemeanor, but Mr. Brown had been arrested at least 14 times since 2011 and served five years in prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon before being released in 2020.

Mr. Brown, 34, was charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 22 death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, in an apparently unprovoked attack on the Charlotte light rail.

“By releasing a repeat violent offender on nothing more than his written promise to appear, Magistrate Stokes displayed a willful failure to perform the duties of her office and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice,” said the Tuesday letter.

“Her decision has undermined public confidence and exposed the community to wholly preventable harm,” the letter said.

Magistrate Stokes, a judge for the Mecklenburg District Court in Charlotte, has not commented publicly on the allegations, but her qualifications for the job have been called into question.

She graduated from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, according to screenshots of her now-removed LinkedIn profile, but was reportedly not admitted to the bar in North Carolina.

That’s not unusual. In North Carolina, magistrates are only required to have a four-year college degree or two-year associate’s degree, or eight years’ experience as a court clerk or law-enforcement officer.

More than 80% of magistrates in North Carolina do not have law degrees, according to a 2022 report in the Columbia Law Review, “Judging Without a J.D.”

Magistrate Stokes was also involved in treatment recovery. She previously served as chief operations officer of Pinnacle Recovery Services, a halfway house in Lansing, Michigan, according to her LinkedIn profile.

A Facebook screenshot making the rounds on social media lists her as director of operations for Second Chance Services, a counseling and mental health clinic in Charlotte, spurring questions about whether her role as magistrate represents a conflict of interest.

Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, said “that’s something that should be investigated” when asked by podcast host Benny Johnson if Magistrate Stokes’ dual roles violate ethical standards.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.