Opinion
Leave concerns about Earls’ controversial comments to the voters
Judges and justices deserve more freedom to comment on matters of public concern, especially in a state that fills the jobs through elections.
News
Earls seeks 4th Circuit injunction denied by lower court in First Amendment case
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls is asking a federal Appeals Court to issue an injunction that would block the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission from proceeding with an investigation against her. Without an injunction, the commission could consider Earls’ case on Friday.
News
Federal judge denies Earls’ request for emergency injunction in First Amendment lawsuit
Nine days after denying state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls’ initial request for an injunction against the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, a federal judge has denied Earls’ second request for an injunction. US District Judge William Osteen issued his latest order Thursday afternoon. He denied Earls’ request to block a commission investigation into Earls’ published comments while she appeals to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
News
NC Supreme Court hears lawsuit over removal of Asheville monument
The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments recently in a lawsuit brought by The Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops against the City of Asheville over the removal of a monument honoring former North Carolina governor and confederate colonel Zebulon Baird Vance.
News
UNC-Chapel Hill recognized for ‘challenging the groupthink and status quo’
Accomplishments recognized in the award include adopting a resolution on institutional neutrality, adopting the Chicago Principles, prohibiting compelled speech and establishing the UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership.
News
Federal Appeals Court rejects ‘John Doe’ plaintiff in NC sex assault case
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals will not let a man proceed as “John Doe” in his federal lawsuit in North Carolina alleging a false accusation of sexual assault. The case had attracted attention from the First Amendment Coalition and UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, namesake of Reason magazine’s “The Volokh Conspiracy” blog.
News
Civil rights groups, legal ethics professors back Earls’ federal First Amendment case
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls has secured support from 16 self-described civil rights organizations and a group of legal ethics professors in her First Amendment fight against the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission. Earls also filed new court documents Friday supporting her case.
News
SCOTUS rejects case involving NC ‘ag-gag’ law
The US Supreme Court will not take up a case involving a challenge to North Carolina’s so-called “ag-gag” law. That means an appellate court decision will stand banning that law’s application to “newsgathering” operations by animal rights activists.
News
Charlotte schools’ social media suit likely to shift to California court
A federal court in California is likely to address the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board's lawsuit against major social media companies. The suit filed in August accuses the companies of contributing to a “mental health crisis” among American children.
Opinion
Earls has right to free speech, even when it’s off-base
Support for a state Supreme Court justice's federal First Amendment lawsuit does not mean support for the content of her speech.
News
Cooper likely to be dropped from COVID protester’s federal lawsuit
Gov. Roy Cooper could be dropped as a defendant in a federal lawsuit challenging an arrest during a 2020 COVID shutdown protest in Raleigh. A court filing Friday proposes removing Cooper’s name and adding unnamed Raleigh police officers to the list of defendants linked to the arrest.
News
Earls’ First Amendment lawsuit reassigned from Biggs to Osteen
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls’ First Amendment lawsuit against a state judicial standards group will proceed in front of a federal judge appointed by former President George W. Bush, not one appointed by former President Barack Obama.
