Justice Anita Earls
Investigation of NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls may continue
A federal judge will allow North Carolina’s Judicial Standards Commission to continue its ethics investigation into Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. Earls filed a lawsuit in August alleging the Judicial Standards Commission had violated her First Amendment rights for investigating comments she made about the lack of diversity in the state judiciary. As NC Newsline […]
NC Supreme Court agrees to rehear Leandro school funding lawsuit
The state Supreme Court has granted a discretionary review of North Carolina’s long-running school funding case to address whether the trial court lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” when it ordered the state to spend an additional $677 million on a sweeping school improvement plan. In a concurring opinion, Justice Phil Berger Jr., said the Court is duty-bound […]
States Newsroom national reporter Zachary Roth discusses threats to democracy
Even though Donald Trump has been out of office now for well over two and a half years, some of his conservative allies – particularly at the state legislative level – continue to advance new laws that threaten democracy by making voting more difficult and exclusive and handing the oversight of elections to partisan […]
Anti-democratic moves by state lawmakers raise fears for 2024 election
In Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are threatening to impeach both the state’s election administrator, who is highly regarded nationally, and a state Supreme Court justice despite a ruling by the state’s judicial commission that the justice had done nothing wrong — effectively nullifying a recent statewide election she won, Democrats say. In North Carolina, a bill […]
Legally required racial data can still fail to prove police stop people for ‘driving while Black’
Jeremy Johnson had parked his Ford Mustang beside a “No Trespassing” sign in the parking lot of Raleigh North Apartments in the early morning hours of Nov. 22, 2017. As Raleigh Police Officer B.A. Kuchen patrolled the lot, it looked to him like Johnson slid his body under the steering wheel, apparently trying to hide […]
Gov. Cooper selects Judge Allison Riggs to fill NC Supreme Court vacancy
Nine months after Governor Roy Cooper appointed Allison Riggs to serve on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Cooper turned to Riggs again today, asking her to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of state Associate Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan. In announcing the promotion Monday afternoon, the governor voiced unwavering confidence in […]
NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls sues state’s Judicial Standards Commission
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging the Judicial Standards Commission had violated her First Amendment rights for investigating and potentially punishing her for public comments she made about the lack of diversity in the state judiciary. The 29-page complaint says that Earls believes that public confidence in the courts […]
NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls: ‘Good turnout can overcome a bad gerrymander’
Anita Earls was unsure about the federal courts after the 2016 presidential election. A civil rights attorney, she was unclear about whether the federal judiciary would uphold the values she’d spent her career defending. “It seemed to me important to also remember that state courts are a way to protect our rights,” Earls said during […]
Justice Michael Morgan not running for re-election to NC Supreme Court
Associate Justice Michael Morgan announced on Twitter Thursday morning that he will not run for re-election to retain his seat on the state Supreme Court. “With the incredibly good fortune to be the only person ever in NC to serve in 4 different judgeships over my 34 years of judicial service, I shall not seek […]
NC Supreme Court justice discusses work of Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice at Greensboro event
Anita Earls touts progress in combating criminal justice inequities, calls for work at state and local levels to continue When Anita Earls moved to Charlotte in 1988, one of the first people who welcomed her to the Queen City was the chair of the Charlotte League of Women Voters. Earls credits the chapter with helping her grow as an attorney and inspiring her through its work in support of maintaining racial integration in the city's schools.
NC Supreme Court issues much-anticipated rulings on voter ID, gerrymandering, and a Confederate statue
The North Carolina Supreme Court handed down more than two dozen rulings on Friday, including a trio dealing with high-profile political controversies. The rulings come just weeks before Republicans Richard Dietz and Trey Allen replace sitting Democratic Associate Justices Samuel Ervin IV and Robin Hudson, and thereby flip the court’s current 4-3 Democratic majority to […]
PW special report: Two recent state Supreme Court decisions could alter NC’s juvenile justice landscape
After growing up behind bars, many who committed serious crimes when they were children now have a chance at parole James Ryan Kelliher first tried to kill himself when he was 10 years old. A high school dropout who had been abused by his father, Kelliher spent all his time getting or staying high by the time he was 17, robbing people to support his addiction.