News
Appeals Court rejects Pitt County Confederate monument lawsuit
The North Carolina Court of Appeals split, 2-1, Wednesday in rejecting a lawsuit challenging the removal of a Confederate monument from the Pitt County courthouse.
News
Appeals Court restores defendant’s felon firearm possession charge
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that a trial judge was wrong in 2024 to dismiss a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon in a Forsyth County case. The defendant had challenged the charge as unconstitutional based on recent US Supreme Court rulings in gun-rights cases.
News
Appeals Court rules DOT had immunity in deaths on snow-covered interstate
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that the state Department of Transportation has immunity in a lawsuit seeking damages related to two deaths on a snow- and ice-covered interstate. The unanimous decision Wednesday reversed a 2024 ruling against DOT from the North Carolina Industrial Commission.
Opinion
Court spells out limits for constitutional right to hunt and fish
Even a right spelled out in North Carolina's governing document can face limits set by the General Assembly.
News
Appeals Court upholds NC’s Sunday hunting restrictions
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld the state’s restrictions on Sunday hunting. The unanimous decision Wednesday from a three-judge appellate panel rejected a plaintiff’s argument that Sunday hunting restrictions are unconstitutional.
News
NC Appeals Court tackles animal cruelty lawsuit targeting poultry operation
North Carolina’s second-highest court wrestled Tuesday with a lawsuit targeting a Burke County poultry operation for alleged violations of the state’s animal cruelty law. Defendant Case Farms argues that an exemption in state law protects its operations from the suit.
News
Appeals Court revives lawsuit against Highway Patrol trooper who caused fatal crash
The North Carolina Court of Appeals will allow the mother of an East Carolina University student killed in a 2020 car crash to pursue a lawsuit against the State Highway Patrol trooper who caused the accident. The 2-1 Appeals Court decision Tuesday reversed a trial judge’s ruling favoring Trooper Omar Romero Mendoza.
News
Appellate judge invites top NC court to clarify legal issue of marijuana, hemp odor
A North Carolina Appeals Court judge is asking the state’s highest court to clarify an issue that has cropped up multiple times in recent appellate cases. Defendants are challenging law enforcement searches of cars and suspects based on the smell of marijuana.
News
Appeals Court tackles Chapel Hill inclusionary zoning challenge
North Carolina’s second-highest court will decide in the months ahead whether a developer can continue to seek a refund of more than $800,000 in fees paid to Chapel Hill in connection with the town’s inclusionary zoning rules. The developer challenges the fee as unconstitutional. A three-judge NC Court of Appeals panel heard more than an hour of oral arguments on the issue Wednesday.
News
Appeals Court splits in second ruling against former Charlotte private school parents
The state Court of Appeals has ruled a second time against parents challenging the expulsion of their children from a Charlotte private school. Unlike the first unanimous ruling in January, the latest decision split judges, 2-1, and produced three separate opinions.
News
Cooper appeals ruling over COVID bar shutdowns to highest NC court
Gov. Roy Cooper is urging the state Supreme Court to take up a case of bar owners suing the state over government-enforced shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. A split state Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 this month that bar owners could move forward with their lawsuit against Cooper and the state.
News
NC Appeals Court deals blow to fired UNC professor claiming ‘whistleblower’ status
The N.C. Court of Appeals has dismissed the case of a former UNC Chapel Hill professor who has been challenging his dismissal since 2018. Professor Richard Semelka’s latest legal action alleged that university officials violated the state Whistleblowers Act.
