What's next for Cecil Brockman, the NC lawmaker who faces sex charges

More than a month has passed since High Point’s representative cast a vote in the North Carolina House of Representatives — and there’s no sign that the city of 115,000 people will have a voice in the chamber anytime soon.

State Rep. Cecil Brockman remained in jail Thursday on a $1.05 million bond after being arrested and charged with sex offenses with a minor on Oct. 8. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle — from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to Republican House Speaker Destin Hall — have called on Brockman to resign from his position so that he may be replaced.

Hall announced last week that he planned to form a committee to review Brockman’s status as a legislator and potentially expel him, if the Guilford County Democrat doesn’t resign. As of Thursday, Brockman had not resigned and Hall had not formally created the committee. Brockman and his lawyer haven’t responded to multiple requests for comment on the calls for his resignation. A Brockman aide said the lawmaker wouldn’t comment.

Here are some answers to questions about Brockman, the votes he has missed, and efforts to potentially expel the 41-year-old lawmaker who has represented High Point for more than a decade.

Question: What is Brockman charged with?

Prosecutors are charging Brockman with two counts of statutory sex offense with a child and two additional counts of indecent liberties with a child. Prosecutors allege that he met the 15-year-old victim on a dating app and that they lived together for a time. The alleged victim’s cellphone contained videos of illicit acts, according to prosecutors, who said investigators recognized Brockman in some of the videos.

Q: What has Brockman said about the charges?

Nothing. WRAL reporters have called, texted, and emailed Brockman in an attempt to get his reaction to the charges, to the calls for him to resign, and to Hall’s plan to form a committee that could potentially expel Brockman from his legislative seat. Brockman has not responded. Drew Gibson, Brockman’s legislative aide, recently told WRAL that Brockman has no plans to comment. Gibson then referred WRAL to Brockman’s attorney, Greensboro-based Alec Carpenter, for further information. Carpenter has not responded to WRAL’s emails or voice messages seeking comment. Brockman’s next court date is scheduled for Nov. 3.

Q: What has Brockman missed at the legislature?

Brockman remained in jail last week while the House passed new congressional election maps, as well as proposals to fund Medicaid and boost pay for some employees. Brockman’s presence wouldn’t have affected the outcome of those votes. Republicans hold a strong majority in both chambers of the legislature, which enabled them to easily approve new congressional districts. The proposals to fund Medicaid and state employee raises were mostly symbolic, since the House and Senate remain at odds over state spending. Senate leaders are unlikely to take up the House spending proposals.

Q: What could Brockman’s absence mean for future votes?

Brockman’s absence could hinder the Democrats’ ability to block some GOP legislation from becoming law. Stein this year has vetoed bills attempting to loosen North Carolina’s gun laws and eliminate diversity policies in state agencies, among other things — but legislators can override Stein’s vetoes by passing those bills with 60% support.

Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate but not in the House, where the GOP came up one seat short in the most recent elections. If Brockman remains out and all other House members are present, Republicans would need just one Democrat to vote with the GOP, or to be absent from the vote, to override Stein's vetoes — provided all Republicans voted together in favor of the override.

Q: Can state lawmakers remove Brockman from office?

Yes. The state House in 2008 voted 109-5 to remove Wilmington Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright from office after he was charged with using campaign funds for personal purchases and abusing his political power to get a loan. Wright had asked lawmakers to delay a vote on his expulsion until he could defend himself against criminal charges. However, then-House Speaker Joe Hackney had assembled a special committee to review Wright’s actions — and that committee recommended his expulsion. A jury later found Wright guilty of fraud.

Q: Why haven’t lawmakers started the removal process yet?

On Oct. 21, Hall announced plans to form a bipartisan committee to consider Brockman’s status in the chamber and potentially expel him. Hall said he expected to name the members of the committee later in the week. More than a week later, he has not done so.

A spokesperson for Hall’s office says the process for creating a special committee for this particular task has turned out to be more tedious than initially expected. Legislative staff members are still reviewing the steps followed by the committee that removed Wright in 2008, the spokesperson said. Staffers plan to lay out similar steps in a special resolution announcing the creation of the committee. Hall’s office declined to speculate on when that might occur.

Q: How long will it take to vote on Brockman’s expulsion?

The process could take months, especially if lawmakers follow precedent set by Wright’s case. State records show that legislators started creating rules for Wright’s removal committee in December 2007. They then spent three months holding hearings and collecting input from witnesses — before ultimately voting to expel him on March 20, 2008.

“It was quite a complicated process of hearings and meetings and motions and rules and various things,” said Gerry Cohen, a lawyer who worked with the legislature for more than 30 years. “So yeah, there's a bunch of peoples’ schedules to coordinate.”

Another potential hangup: Brockman’s availability. In the 2008 case, Wright appeared at hearings in person to defend himself. It’s possible that Brockman would remain in jail through his trial. Hall said recently that anyone up for expulsion is owed due process, adding: “Part of our issue is he is, as I understand it, [he is] still in jail, and so obviously couldn’t be here to present evidence one way or the other.”

Q: If Brockman is removed, who gets to replace him?

In the event of a vacancy, state law instructs the governor to appoint a replacement who is recommended by members of the legislator’s local political party. In Brockman’s case, that responsibility would fall to members of the Guilford County Democratic Party. Kathy Kirkpatrick, the leader of the Guilford Democratic Party, said she has been calling members of the local party to see when they might be available for a meeting to potentially elect Brockman’s replacement, if he resigns or is removed. It would likely take a week or more for Guilford Democrats to vote, Kirkpatrick said, because party rules require officials to notify members of a meeting at least five days in advance.