"A nonlawyer sitting on the highest court in the land? Is that even allowed?" — Greensboro News-Record columnist Doug Clark

Yes, for the U.S. Supreme Court; no, for the North Carolina one.

Article IV of the North Carolina constitution states that "only persons duly authorized to practice law" in state courts may be eligible to be elected or appointed state judges.

The N.C. Board of Law Examiners determines who can practice law. It requires that students graduate from a law school approved the N.C. State Bar, provide proof of "good moral character" and pass the bar exam, or have practiced law in another state.

"The main requirement is that you have to graduate from an ABA-approved law school," said Tammy Jackson, a spokeswoman for the State Bar.

Article III of the U.S. Constitution, however, states only that judges shall "hold their offices during good behavior."

It does not list any formal educational requirements, although every person nominated to the Court to date has been a lawyer and nearly two-thirds have been judges.

UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Bill Marshall said that Supreme Court justices handle a lot of technical legal issues.

"You don't have to be a lawyer to be a Supreme Court justice, but I think you probably need to be a this point," he said.

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Can a legislator get out of a speeding ticket while on their way to the legislature? — Dome comment thread

Not any more. And it's not clear whether they ever could.

A state law dating back to 1787 said that police could not detain legislators who were en route to session:

The members ... shall be protected, excepting cases of crime, from all arrest and imprisonment, or attachment of property, during the time of their going to, coming from, or attending the General Assembly.

Many legislators took the statute to mean that they could not be stopped for speeding if they were on their way to a vote.

But longtime bill drafting director Gerry Cohen says the legal meaning of those words was never clear. He argued that speeding or other driving infractions could be considered "cases of crime" that were not covered.

The law dated to pre-revolutionary days, when the king or the colonial governor would sometimes detain a legislator in order to influence a vote.

At the time, police also had much greater powers to arrest citizens for outstanding debts or to enforce a lien, for example.

After then-Sen. Joe Johnson cited the statute while trying to get out of a driving infraction in Raleigh, the legislature got rid of the provision in 1992.

Got a question? Post it in the comments or e-mail dome@newsobserver.com.

"What is the process to publish something on the blog?" — Dome reader Jerimee

There are several ways an item makes it into Dome.

The chief blogger, Ryan Teague Beckwith, reads all of the blogs that touch on North Carolina politics (currently 92, including one that's mostly zoo pictures), scans the state newspaper's coverage and reads press releases.

Like any other reporter, he also regularly touches base with politicians, advocacy groups, consultants and other sources to learn about the news of the day.

He begins the day with the Morning Roundup, a link to the top news story or stories that's not already been covered on the blog. He then links to interesting stories and posts his own reporting throughout the day.

Other members of McClatchy's Raleigh and D.C. bureaus send short items to Beckwith or capital team editors Bill Krueger and Jane Stancill to post throughout the day. Two reporters, Ben Niolet and Mark Johnson, also have the ability to post, for technical reasons.

The name of the person who submits the post is in small gray text just below the headline. If they did not write it, the second or third paragraph will say "Dan Kane reports," for example.

Generally speaking, the blog is a group effort, which is one reason we use the first-person plural pronoun so much. But either Beckwith or another reporter is also assigned to keep the blog active on weekdays.

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Ask Dome is open for business.

Submit your questions about state politics and government in the comment thread below or by e-mail to dome@newsobserver.com.

"Does North Carolina have a law where Congressmen are required to live in the districts they represent?" — Dome reader mdougyr

No. No state does.

The U.S. Constitution is the sole arbiter of qualifications for U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and president, said Don Wright, general counsel for the State Board of Elections. That means no state laws can further limit who can run.

Article I, Section 2 lays out the qualifications:

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

As Wright notes, that does not say anything about districts.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones of Farmville was elected in 1994 while living outside the Third District, although the boundary was later redrawn to include his home.

Vernon Robinson of Winston-Salem and Rory Blake of Charlotte both ran unsuccessfully outside their districts in 2006. As with other candidates, they were criticized for not living in the district, but they were not barred from running.

The same is not true for state lawmakers, however.

Under Article II, Sections 6 and 7, state senators and representatives must reside in their districts for at least one year before being elected. 

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Got a question about state government? Ask the Dome!

In recent editions of our new feature, we've answered how the lieutenant governor is notified (or not) that the governor is away, whether legislators can sell their seats, how the governor's Washington office works, and which Republicans voted for the Democratic leaders in the General Assembly.

But to keep the feature running, we need to hear from you. What's your question about state government? E-mail it to dome@newsobserver.com or post in the comments below. 

"When the governor leaves the state and the lieutenant governor becomes 'acting governor' is there any official notification given?" Dome reader Chris Hayes

Under Article III, Section 3 of the state constitution, the lieutenant governor serves as "acting governor" at the following times: "during the absence of the Governor from the State, or during the physical or mental incapacity of the Governor to perform the duties of his office."

In the case of physical incapacity, the governor may file a written statement with the attorney general declaring when she is not able to serve and when she's ready to return.

The legislature has to determine mental incapacity by a two-thirds vote of all the members of both chambers after hearing from the governor, though only a majority is required to declare that she is capable again.

But neither the constitution nor state law spells out the procedures for the governor to declare when she's away.

Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Beverly Perdue, said that the governor's staff notifies the lieutenant governor when she is out of state.

"There is no official protocol to do it by email or by phone," she said.

Incidentally, succession after the lieutenant governor is spelled out by state law: Senate president, Speaker of the House, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, schools superintendent, attorney general, and the commissioners of agriculture, labor and insurance.

And while the lieutenant governor is in charge, he is paid the governor's salary, too.

"Can't state Senators now buy their seats — literally, their chamber chairs — after the refurbishing of the Senate Chamber recently? ... Does that make Senator Goodall's joke run afoul of scalping laws if not truly ethics laws?" — Dome reader Cornbread

In 2005, the state Senate renovated its chambers.

Among the purchases were 50 black leather chairs from Hickory furniture manufacturer Cabot Wrenn.

Senators had the option of getting a plain seat, which would remain government property, or purchasing a monogrammed chair they could take with them after leaving office. The chairs cost $787.95, including shipping, according to Senate clerk Janet Pruitt.

Sen. Eddie Goodall bought his chair. He recently posted an image of it on the online auction site eBay as part of a joking offer to trade his elected office for Carolina-Duke basketball tickets.

Although it is Goodall's chair, he could not really sell or trade it.

Under a state law passed in 2007, no item with a "likeness of any seal or coat of arms of the Senate" may be sold by a private individual.

In addition, the state's ethics law prohibits legislators from asking, accepting or soliciting "anything of value" in exchange for official actions.

It goes without saying that Goodall could not actually trade his post in the legislature either. Any vacancy would be filled by Gov. Beverly Perdue upon the advice of Republicans from his district.

Perdue, a Democrat and graduate of the University of Kentucky, would be unlikely to break the law in order to help a Republican legislator get tickets to a Carolina game.

Got a question? E-mail dome@newsobserver.com or post it in the comments below.

We're opening the line to your questions.

A new feature at Under the Dome allows you to ask your questions about state and federal government.

So far, we've helped you track down Republicans who voted for the Democratic leadership in the legislature and explained what the governor's D.C. staff does.

But we need your questions to keep the feature running. You can post them in the comments below or e-mail them to dome@newsobserver.com.

"Can you tell me the what the governor's D.C. staff's responsibilities are?" — Dome reader GrayJ

North Carolina has had an office in Washington, D.C., since 1974.

Started by Gov. Jim Holshouser, the office is intended to serve as a liaison between state and federal government on important issues.

"The (office) allows North Carolina to be well represented in Washington so as to derive the most benefit — or, in some cases, to avoid the most harm — from decisions made there that affect us," wrote Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Beverly Perdue, in an e-mail.

Those issues include education, military affairs, economic development, environment and natural resources, revenue and tax matters.

The office is staffed by state employees. Currently it is headed by Jim McCleskey, who works directly for Perdue and served in the same job under former Gov. Mike Easley. In 2008, his annual salary was $91,846.

Other staffers are assigned by the N.C. departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation and Correction, all Cabinet agencies. Those staffers cover policy and appropriations issues for their departments as well as criminal justice, homeland security and emergency management issues.

The office is located three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Got a question? E-mail dome@newsobserver.com or post it in the comments below.