Law and the Courts

President Donald Trump suffered a stinging policy setback last week when, notwithstanding the remarkable flip-flop of North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, 12 Republican senators joined with their Democratic colleagues to disapprove of Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. The vote was just the latest in series of defeats and policy failures for Trump as he muddles his way through the second half of what is increasingly shaping up to be a notably scandal-plagued and ineffectual presidency.

When 9th congressional candidate Mark Harris took the stand Thursday and called for a new election in light of evidence his political operative orchestrated a fraudulent absentee ballot scheme, a collective gasp resonated through the room.

Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris had no idea Wednesday that his son would would take the stand at an evidentiary hearing and testify that he warned his father multiple times about a political operative’s illegal election tactics before he hired him.

If you told Cheri Beasley when she was a little girl that she would grow up to become North Carolina’s first Black female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, she might have looked at you a little funny.

Cheri Beasley made history this week when Gov. Roy Cooper announced that she would become the state’s first Black woman to be Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Kay* was cooling her machine down Tuesday morning at Bear Creek Arsenal in Sanford when she and a mechanic nearby noticed a supervisor looking visibly worried talking to someone they had never seen before.

The first redistricting reform bill in North Carolina was introduced more than 50 years ago, and there have been countless proposals since. None, however, have made it past the House chamber.

Republican Mark Harris’ margin of victory in the 9th congressional district race is in question because of alleged election fraud, and a judge ruled Tuesday the results wouldn’t be certified until the State Board of Elections gets to the bottom of it all.

North Carolina has less than a year of transition time as it raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction and there’s still a lot of work and resources needed to make it happen.

“Is this person a citizen of the United States?” To some that might seem like a simple question to put on the 2020 census, but to some already undercounted populations it perpetuates fear and creates a real possibility for their communities to lose resources.

Raising the age of juvenile justice in North Carolina this year is going to come with a steep price tag, but there are 20,000 kids with their futures at stake counting on the adults in charge to get it right.

There weren’t the same fireworks in the courts world this year, but there certainly was plenty of news to reflect back on. Lawmakers have been in session a large part of the year, and working on things like voter ID, changing the Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement and working out a deal on judicial redistricting.

Governor calls on lawmakers to "fix" elections bill that would expand secrecy “Democracy dies in darkness” isn’t a new phrase but it’s certainly one that has gotten a lot of attention in the Trump era. North Carolina Republicans, though, are apparently working from a different playbook, and give evidence of wanting to dim the lights dramatically.

Perhaps the sixth time is the charm? Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) unveiled another attempt Tuesday by Republican legislators to restructure the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement — this time through a process that is fast tracked and can’t be changed by anyone.

It was clear during two hours of debate Wednesday where the two political parties at the legislature diverged over photo ID: their belief in voter fraud. The GOP supermajority expectedly passed legislation that would implement a constitutional requirement that voters must show a photo ID to cast a ballot.

Lawmakers didn’t waste any time creating a voter ID bill after North Carolinians passed a constitutional amendment in the midterm elections. The Senate has already passed Senate Bill 824, a measure that will require North Carolina voters present a valid photo identification before casting an in-person ballot.