Judge Elizabeth Trosch Out as Mecklenburg County Chief Judge

Elizabeth Trosch, the Mecklenburg County Chief District Court Judge, has been removed from office effective May 1, 2024.

Chief Judge Elizabeth Trosch 

North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby has decided to replace her on May 1. Roy Wiggins, who holds Seat 12 in Mecklenburg County's court system, will take her position.

Trosch was appointed as Chief Judge in February 2020, following the retirement of former Chief Judge Regan Miller.

Trosch continued Judge Miller's no cash bail and slap on the wrist mandates that made Mecklenburg County's criminal justice system a running joke among felons and repeat offenders.

Mecklenburg County Court officials have faced concerns over low bonds given to people charged with violent crimes. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, and Mecklenburg County DA Spencer Merriweather were all outspoken about this issue. 

But it took a Republican controlled North Carolina state legislature to pass The Pretrial Integrity Act in 2023 to mitigate these issues.

Wiggins has held his District Court Judge seat since 2018.

Still Judge Trosch brushed aside criticism and address what she thought were her accomplishments in a memo released on Tuesday.

The memo released by Judge Trosh:

On April 22, 2024, the Chief Justice informed me that he wants a different direction in leadership for Mecklenburg and that he has appointed Judge Roy Wiggins to the post of Chief District Court Judge effective May 1, 2024.

It has been a privilege and an honor to serve Mecklenburg County as the Chief District Court Judge over the last four years. I have endeavored to improve our courts by spear-heading collaborative reforms that have advanced procedural justice and improved outcomes across the district. We have come through the COVID19 pandemic stronger—having executed successful backlog reduction strategies and implemented data driven case management strategies bringing our pending case inventory down to pre-pandemic levels for most case types. Together, we coordinated the successful launch of e-Courts in Mecklenburg County—shepherding our district through the greatest transformation of the courts in our generation.

I am proud of the work we have done together to ensure justice for our community without favor, denial, or delay. We have reduced non-motor vehicle pending cases to 48% below pre-pandemic levels. Our criminal trial courts are more efficient bringing 230% more Driving While Impaired cases to trial and increasing dispositions by 78% compared to FY2019. Similarly, we have brought our felony pending case inventory down from 6,721 cases at the height of the pandemic to 2,373 cases—158% below pre-pandemic levels.

We have successfully reduced our domestic pending cases to below pre-pandemic numbers. Despite taking 43% more domestic filings than the next largest district, we have outperformed Wake County with 85% more dispositions in the last fiscal year. Our Family Court has been effective and efficient having completed 65% more property distribution trials and 100% more child support and child custody trials.

The lack of affordable housing in Mecklenburg County has stretched our general civil court to unparalleled capacity. We have experienced a six-fold increase in eviction cases since 2013. Eviction filings in Mecklenburg County account for 48% of eviction filings statewide. Nevertheless, through data driven case management strategies, we have kept pace with over 70 bench trials per week in our civil courtroom.

As leadership of this district transitions to a new chief, I am confident that I have left it better than I found it. In partnership with local leaders, court staff and partners, a strong foundation has been laid for Mecklenburg to be the most productive and efficient district in the state.