Kings Mountain has asked for a bailout.

Don't panic. "Bailout" is the term used by the Justice Department when a government asks to be excused from the "preclearance" requirement of the Voting Rights Act. Preclearance is required for certain jurisdictions, predominantly in the South, who want to make changes to their elections.

A recent Supreme Court case allowed local governments to seek exemptions and Kings Mountain, which is located west of Gastonia, is the first local government to ask for an exemption, reports The Blog of Legal Times.

Hat tip: David Ingram

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan is seeking some outside help on judicial appointments.

The Greensboro Democrat said that she will create a four-member panel from around the state to vet candidates for federal judgeships and the state's three U.S. attorneys.

"This committee will be comprised of experienced professionals from across the state and will help ensure that the most qualified and competent candidates are ultimately selected for recommendation," she said in a statement.

Spokesman Dave Hoffman said the committee will include one member each from the eastern, western and central regions of the state and a chairman from anywhere. He did not know who would serve on it yet.

Hagan is particularly concerned with finding a North Carolinian to serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, a post that has been held up in the past because of partisan differences between the state's senators.

According to the Legal Times, Hagan met with several possible nominees earlier this year.

A vetting process is not uncommon. The Virginia Bar interviewed potential nominees at the request of that state's two senators.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan may help name two federal judges.

The first-term Democratic senator will likely give advice to President Obama, who may fill at least two of the four vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, reports former Domester David Ingram, now of the Legal Times.

She met with several possible nominees for the 4th Circuit a few weeks ago, but she does not appear to have moved quickly to set up an internal system for recommending anyone, says Burley Mitchell Jr., a former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court and a partner in the Raleigh office of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

"She’s just gotten there," Mitchell says. "I don’t think that they've even worked out any of the mechanisms."

Hagan's office declined to comment on the process. Possible nominees include UNC-Chapel Hill law professor S. Elizabeth Gibson, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Rich Leonard and N.C. Appeals Court Judge Jim Wynn.

Others who are interested include U.S. District Court Judge James Beaty Jr.; private lawyers James Cooney III, Douglas Kingsbery and Robert Spearman; Southern Coalition for Social Justice director Anita Earls, N.C. Appeals Judge Martha Geer and N.C. Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson.

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is coming to North Carolina.

The former Texas Congressman will promote early voting on behalf of the John McCain campaign Thursday in stops at Jacksonville, New Bern and Raleigh.

Update: Armey may already be a bit off-message.

He told the Legal Times Monday that he isn't sure how McCain can win:

"Obama's clearly got the wind to his back and he's got a lot of money. McCain is fighting against the prevailing winds and he has less funds to do it . . . [McCain] just has to stay at it. I don’t know what you could do. He's got get-out-the-vote efforts, but I don't know what you could do to stop the wave that Obama’s riding."

Hat Tip: David Ingram