Randolph deputy recognized for law bearing his name

Janet Imrick
Randolph Hub

ASHEBORO – State lawmakers say a Randolph County Sheriff's deputy's willingness to go above and beyond in a domestic violence incident earned the approval of the NC Legislature in Raleigh, with the passing of Jordan's Law, named after Sgt. Cody Jordan.

Jordan was honored at the Randolph County Commissioners meeting on June 3. State Senator Dave Craven said this law will help people if their court hearing to extend a restraining order gets pushed back past the expiration of the current protection order.

Craven presented Jordan with a framed copy of the ratified bill. District Court Judge Sarah Lanier and Sheriff Greg Seabolt were in attendance. Craven credited Jordan for stepping up after responding to a woman in a domestic violence situation.

"This was a huge deal," Craven said. "Sgt. Jordan didn't do what some people would do and pass the buck and say, 'Okay, this is what happened' and move on. He contacted me. I talked to Judge Lanier. We talked through the logistics of it and talked with the sheriff."

According to Randolph Government Relations and Public Affairs Director Amanda Varner, Jordan was called to assist Highway Patrol with a roadside dispute in February 2022. They learned that the woman had an expired restraining order against the man involved. Although her request to renew the order was timely, a backlog in the court delayed the hearing until after the order expired.

House Bill 615, co-sponsored by Craven, allows a court to temporarily renew the current order until the date of the hearing or for 30 days from the date the current order is set to expire. It was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on July 7, 2022.

Jordan said, "Hopefully, that's a solution and a resolution to that issue. I'm thankful that it's something that can empower law enforcement the next time we come across something like this."

Craven said the bill moved to ratification in a matter of days. "That doesn't happen in Raleigh," he said. "It takes a long time, sometimes a year or two to make things right. This was a no-brainer."

Seabolt agreed. "It became law quicker than we got it framed."

Seabolt said to Jordan, "Cody, thank you for your leadership. You could have easily left and taken another call. You took the initiative to do the right thing. Instead of putting a Band-Aid on the problem, you fixed it."