Bob Orr is back at his old job.

The former Republican gubernatorial candidate has returned as executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law.

After retiring from the state Supreme Court, Orr had served as the nonprofit group's first head, stepping down in May of last year to run for governor. 

"My work on the Supreme Court and my recent experience as a candidate for governor strengthened my belief that promoting a greater emphasis on and appreciation for the N.C. Constitution, and the rights it affords and limitations it imposes on government, is a necessary and important objective," he said in a statement. 

The institute focuses on public outreach and advocacy as well as litigation to argue that the state lottery and corporate incentives are unconstitutional.

A group opposed to the lottery laid out its case today at the state Supreme Court.

The North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law filed its brief today in its challenge to the lottery. The group says state lawmakers improperly established the lottery, Titan Barksdale reports.

In a split decision in March, the state Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's dismissal of the group's lawsuit that challenged the way North Carolina's lottery was established. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, contended that the lottery is a tax and didn't go through the procedural requirements in the legislature for new taxes.

The institute points to Judge Ann Marie Calabria's dissenting opinion to reinforce its argument. Her dissent gave the group a right to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

More after the jump.

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I. Beverly Lake Jr. has joined the Shanahan Law Group.

The former chief justice of the state Supreme Court will be a senior counsel at the Raleigh law firm, handling general corporate representation as well as litigation and appellate cases.

"Justice Lake is widely respected in legal, political and business circles throughout our state, and we are fortunate to have him on our team," said firm founder Kieran Shanahan.

A graduate of Wake Forest University's law school, Lake served two terms in the state Senate, ran for governor as the Republican nominee in 1980 and served on the Supreme Court from 1992 to 2006, when he was required to step down because of his age.

Bob Edmunds has received the maximum amount of contributions for publicly funded judicial candidates.

The candidate for the state Supreme Court is asking supporters to stop sending contributions.

As a participant in a publicly funded campaign, Edmunds raised the maximum $80,160 from more than 700 qualifying contributions.

Edmunds had to rasie a minimum of $40,050 from 350 registered North Carolina voters giving between $10 and $500 as a judicial candidate participating in the program.

"I am gratified that so many North Carolinians have chosen to support my reelection," Justice Edmunds said. "These contributions have come from citizens from all walks of life. However, it is awkward to return checks now that I have received the maximum amount. For that reason, I am asking that no additional contributions be sent."

Dome previously reported on April 8 that Edmunds' opponent, Suzanne Reynolds, reached her maximum for publicly funded judicial candidates.

Reynolds received nearly 450 qualifying contributions that totalled $80,100.

Both candidates are eligible for an additional $233,625 from the public campaign fund.

It looks like North Carolina's lottery will have at least one more day in court.

The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law said today that it will appeal a decision yesterday by the N.C. Court of Appeals affirming a lower court's dismissal of the group's lawsuit against how North Carolina's lottery was established.

The group, which is representing four individuals and two organizations in the lawsuit, will appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court.

The North Carolina lottery is safe for now.

The N.C. Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court's dismissal of a suit that challenged the way North Carolina's lottery was established.

The state disagreed, arguing that it makes a profit on the sale of lottery game tickets.

Plaintiffs included state Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, the N.C. Family Policy Council and the Wake County Taxpayers Association.

In his opinion for the three-judge panel, Judge James Wynn Jr. said the Lottery Act was not a bill “enacted to raise money on the credit of the State." Wynn also wrote that the lottery was not created to to pay any debt.

Judge Ann Marie Calabria disagreed, saying the state is essentially indebted to prize winners.

The opinion defines a revenue bill as any legislation that raises money on the credit of the state and pledges the faith of the state for the payment of a debt.

Rep. Thomas Wright will be starting March Madness Thursday.

The Wilmington Democrat heads into a face-off with Reps. Rick Glazier and Paul Stam, both No. 1 seeds in the Democratic and Republican conferences.

The odds are stacked against Wright, especially now that former coach Jim Black has left his side.

Still, the game's not over until it's over. One of Wright's top players, N.C. Central star Irv Joyner, told the Wilmington Star-News that he hopes to challenge the legislature in a rematch before the state Supreme Court.

He also tried to work the refs a little in advance of the Big Dance:

"This body has already determined that they want him out of there," Joyner said. "I'm of the opinion that once they vote to do that, it is going to be final unless the (N.C.) Supreme Court invalidates what they did."

Now that is what we call a wild card.

It's been 40 years since judges on the N.C. Court of Appeals began hearing cases.

Officers of the court will celebrate the 40-year anniversary at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Court of Appeals courtroom, Titan Barksdale reports. Among the guests will be former Appeals Court and state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, who is running for governor.

"I am looking forward to the ceremony at the courtroom and to visiting with colleagues and friends who have served on and worked for the Court over the years," he said in a statement.

The General Assembly decided to create the court in 1967 because the North Carolina Supreme Court had become overburdened. In October of the same year, the appeals court began taking cases.

The Court of Appeals has fifteen judges who sit in rotating panels of three. They decide questions of law on every case—except death penalty cases—appealed from the Superior and District courts.

Lawyer Staples Hughes has been cleared of any wrongdoing in revealing a dead clients' confession that he believed could help prove a man innocent of murder.

Hughes said today that the N.C. State Bar cleared him last week after a lengthy investigation about his disclosure. He said the bar dismissed a complaint against him finding no probable cause, Titan Barksdale reports.

Hughes was trying to help prisoner Lee Wayne Hunt, who was convicted of killing a Fayetteville couple 21 years ago, and sentenced to life in prison.

During a hearing to seek a new trial for Hunt, a Cumberland County Superior Court judge warned he would report Hughes to the bar over his testimony about the confession. Hughes testified that his client, Jerry Cashwell, told him that he acted alone in killing the couple.

Hunt, whose case has gained national attention after he appeared on "60 Minutes," is still fighting to prove his innocence. Hughes' testimony was rejected by the judge, and the N.C. Supreme Court recently denied Hunt's request for a review of his case.

Hunt's attorneys are planning to appeal his case to federal court.