Judge tosses lawsuit challenging
Saturday, March 31st, 2007
By Chris Fitzsimon
NC judicial race financing plan By MARGARET LILLARD Associated Press Writer Friday, March 30, 2007
RALEIGH, N.C. - A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state’s public financing program for appellate court candidates Friday, putting an end to a former candidate’s claims that the program rules limited free speech and put him at a disadvantage.
Rusty Duke, who ran unsuccessfully last fall for chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and others sued in 2005. They said the voluntary program violates First Amendment rights and forces candidates who don’t participate to file additional campaign finance paperwork.
The lawsuit also said a $50 annual fee that all North Carolina lawyers must pay for the public financing is unlawful.
In late October _ less than two weeks before the general election _ U.S. District Judge Earl Britt rejected the plaintiffs’ request to stop the program while the lawsuit was heard.
He also ruled that the fee dispute is a state matter, not a federal one, and dismissed one plaintiff, Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Jackson, saying she suffered no harm by not participating in the program in 2004.
Britt agreed Friday to dismiss the remaining claims by Duke and two anti-abortion political groups, who challenged a prohibition on taking campaign donations within 21 days of Election Day, reporting requirements and the public financing scheme as a whole. (more…)
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