DID TOP COURT OFFICIAL GET SOFTER TREATMENT?

Until July 24, John M. Kennedy was director of the state court system. Now,
Kennedy is the focus of a cocaine investigation by the State Bureau of
Investigation.

No criminal charges have been filed against him, and Kennedy denies ever
using cocaine.

Yet a day before Kennedy's forced resignation in July, the Wake County
Sheriff's Department used a drug-sniffing dog in Kennedy's office at the
Administrative Office of the Courts. "Trace amounts of cocaine" were found
inside his desk.

The following day, N.C. Chief Justice Beverly Lake Jr., who was Kennedy's
boss, demanded his resignation. Lake and Kennedy said at the time that
Kennedy was resigning for personal reasons, including his interest in
playing in a jazz band. There was no mention of the cocaine allegations.
After inquiries by The News & Observer of Raleigh, Lake finally provided a
more truthful account of Kennedy's forced departure. The chief justice now
says he was not covering up the cocaine search, which he had requested, but
thought he was upholding state personnel laws regarding Kennedy's privacy.
With the news media about to publish disclosures about Kennedy's forced
resignation, Lake consulted the attorney for the Administrative Office of
the Courts. The lawyer advised Lake that the integrity of the court system
outweighed personnel regulations.

Why Lake and the AOC attorney didn't reach this decision immediately after
the cocaine search is troubling. Only after media inquires weeks later did
they conclude that the court system's credibility took highest priority.
Lake's delay suggests the chief justice let friendship with Kennedy, who was
known as an effective administrator, outweigh his sound legal thinking.
Similarly, Kennedy's friendship with Wake District Attorney Colon
Willoughby, who had worked closely with Kennedy in the past, also raises
disturbing questions. Even after the cocaine search, Willoughby did not
pursue a further investigation. Willoughby said he was told that, despite
traces of cocaine, there "was nothing to be collected to be tested."
Fortunately, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper did not give Kennedy's case a
pass. He has ordered the SBI to investigate the cocaine allegations, as well
it should. Kennedy is innocent until proved otherwise. But there is a
disturbing perception that his friendship with Chief Justice Lake stalled
full disclosure about his departure. And his friendship with Wake District
Attorney Willoughby may have affected the pursuit of a full investigation.
Whether it's John Q. Public or Kennedy, no person is above the law. In fact,
Kennedy, who was a top court administrator, should have been subjected to
the highest scrutiny of all.

Regrettably, he was not.