Brad Hoxit made history last month, but not in a way he’d ever have hoped.

Hoxit appeared in Graham County Superior Court from March 24-27 for a hearing to determine whether he would be permanently removed as sheriff of the small Western North Carolina county. Last week, Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer did indeed bar Hoxit from returning to office, and now his attorneys say an appeal is imminent. 

Haywood County’s elected clerk of superior court Hunter Plemmons has announced that he is resigning from his position effective Nov. 17.

Former Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, who retired earlier this month amid sexual assault charges, is now facing a second-degree rape charge.

Cochran was formally indicted on the latest charge Monday, July 21, and was arrested by an SBI agent the morning of Tuesday, July, 22.

Judge Roy Wijewickrama has been appointed to fill the recently vacated senior resident superior court seat in the district made up of Haywood and Jackson counties.

The appointment, announced by Gov. Roy Cooper in a press release, came the afternoon of Nov. 14.

There have been a lot of questions regarding the future of Western North Carolina’s judges over the last year or so, but the final piece may have just fallen into place. 

Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat. 

When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.

Eight people charged in Haywood County with trafficking and possessing illegal drugs are now serving active time in state prison, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

A man faces a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty Wednesday in Jackson County to a string of break-ins and thefts in Sylva, as well as to assaulting and injuring an officer with Cherokee Police Department. Sylva police handled the investigation.

Amid widespread speculation about plans to run for principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts has announced plans to retire from his position — but not to run for tribal office. Letts said he has ruled out that possibility.