An attorney with the Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh sent Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake a letter last month, telling her to stop contacting District Court Judge Rex Marvel about pending cases.
According to the letter, Leake called Marvel on March 22 to discuss one of the judge’s child welfare cases.
Marvel told her he was not allowed to discuss the case and “promptly” ended the call. The county’s chief District Court judge, Elizabeth Trosch, then contacted a Mecklenburg County attorney, Twyla Hollingsworth, asking her to tell Leake to stop contacting Marvel.
But Leake continued to call Marvel seven times over the next five days, according to the letter. The March 30 letter from the Administrative Office of the Courts instructed Leake to “respect the prohibition on contacting Marvel.”
In an interview with WFAE, Leake said a constituent asked her for help in a case. She said she only called Marvel one time.
“That’s a lie — I never called but once,” Leake said. “That’s not true. He told a lie. Well, you know I don’t have that kind of time (to make multiple calls).”
Marvel said he could not comment, but he did say that the letter from the Administrative Office of the Courts is accurate.