N.C. Court of Appeals

Elmore to seek re-election to court

bkrueger — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:46:16 -0500

N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Rick Elmore has announced he will run for re-election in 2010, reports Mandy Locke.

Elmore was initially elected to the court in 2002. Prior to that, he practiced law in Greenboro, specializing in criminal defense and real property law. He represented indigent clients in state and federal courts.

Elmore is being challenged by Leto Copeley, a lawyer in Chapel Hill who specializes in workers' compensation, personal injury and sexual harassment and abuse cases.

Copeley has 26 years experience as a lawyer and practices in both state and federal court in the areas of workers’ compensation, personal injury and sexual harassment/sex abuse.

Update: Post now includes information on Copeley.

Steelman aims to stay on court

markjohnson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:46:51 -0500

N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Sanford Steelman announced Monday he is seeking a second term.

First elected in 2002 as a Republican, Steelman is the only judge on the Court of Appeals from the Charlotte area. He and his wife, Buff, live in Weddington.

Steelman plans to participate in the state's public financing for judicial campaigns, which limits both fundraising and spending. Judicial races are now nonpartisan.

Steelman practiced law in Monroe from 1976 to 1994, when he was elected a superior court judge. He's a graduate of Davidson College and UNC law school.

Appeals Court rules against SEANC

mbieseck — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:10:53 -0500

In a split decision issued Tuesday, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court acted appropriately in dismissing a lawsuit filed against former State Treasurer Richard Moore.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina sued in 2008 over a dispute about whether Moore's office had provided public records requested by the group regarding the handling of the state retirement system.

Moore's lawyer argued in Wake Superior Court in June 2008 that the association cannot point to a single specific public record that had been withheld, and Judge James E. Hardin dismissed the suit.

In Tuesday's decision, appeals court Judges Cheri Beasley and Wanda G. Bryant ruled that Hardin was right to dismiss the case, ruling that Moore had fulfilled his obligation under the state's public records law to search his files for documents covered under the request filed by SEANC.

Appeals Court Judge Rick Elmore dissented, writing in a separate opinion that the employees group had shown that Moore had likely withheld records he was legally obligated to provide.

UPDATE: Thomas A. Harris, the chief of staff and general counsel for SEANC, said he will recommend to the group's board that they appeal Tuesday's decision to the N.C. Supreme Court.

"The majority opinion misstates the facts of the case and, as the dissent points out, adds a equirement for maintaining a Public Records Act lawsuit that is not in the law itself," Harris said in an e-mail to Dome.

Moore said: "This news, combined with the other recent news that North Carolina's pension fund was the best performing in the country for this past fiscal year, are nice exclamation points to the end of my 8-year-tenure."

Appeals panel upholds Wright conviction

mbieseck — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:48:48 -0500

The N.C. Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of former state Rep. Thomas E. Wright on three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses for taking out a fraudulent bank loan and depositing contributions intended for charity into his personal bank account.

Wright, a Democrat from Wilmington, was sentenced in April 2008 to more than seven years in prison. Earlier, he was kicked out of the N.C. House of Representatives by his peers for ethical violations, becoming the first legislator to suffer that fate since 1880.

In his appeal, Wright, 54, argued the trial judge erred by denying him a motion to delay his court date, by allowing the deputy director of the state Board of Elections to testify about campaign finance violations and in the instructions given to the jurors who convicted him.

The three-judge appeals panel ruled Tuesday that Wright's complaints were without merit and that he "received a fair trial, free from error."

Wright, who currently resides at Pamlico Correctional Institution as Inmate No. 1073692, could not immediately be reached for comment.

NC, meet McQueen

bniolet — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:15:02 -0400

THE WHOLE TRUTH: McQueen Campbell is one of 30 witnesses who have been subpoened in the State Board of Elections inquiry into the campaign finance of former Gov. Mike Easley. Campbell had a close relationship with Easley and will figure prominently in the hearings this week. (N&O)

ADD IT UP: In five years, administrative costs at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics grew 46 percent. The school has added 70 students during that period, and 24 teachers. But it has added only two administrators. Much of the increased administrative expense is in pay raises. (N&O)

WRIGHT APPEAL: Former state Rep. Thomas Wright's appeal of his fraud convictions is scheduled to be heard by the N.C. Court of Appeals next month. The former lawmaker is a prisoner in Pamlico County north of New Bern. (Wilmington Star-News)

Confession doubted

bniolet — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:31:22 -0400

I DID IT: A dying inmate is having a hard time convincing the right people he committed a Raleigh murder. Craig Taylor says he, and not Greg Taylor (no relation) killed a woman. Greg Taylor's case recently went before the Innocence Inquiry Commission, which found reason to believe Greg Taylor shouldn't be locked up, partly because Craig Taylor knew specific details about the murder.

But Craig Taylor has confessed to other murders and officials say he is confessing to murders because he is dying. (N&O)

THIRD PARTIES GET ANOTHER SHOT: The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a state law that forces third political parties to collect tens of thousands of signatures to get on North Carolina's ballot. But the court's split decision means the case will likely be heard again. (AP)

A LITTLE BIT MORE: Duke Energy has pared down a rate hike request in a compromise with regulators. If the N.C. Utilities Commission agrees, a 7 percent hike would be phased in over two years. (Char-O)

Court asked to reverse Boseman case

bniolet — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:27:29 -0400

Lawyers for state Sen. Julia Boseman's former partner have asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider a Court of Appeals ruling in the couple's adoption custody case.

Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, and Melissa Jarrell, were in court over whether Boseman's adoptoin of Jarrell's child was legal. Jarrell, a former softball coach at UNC-Wilmington, had claimed that the adoption was invalid because gays and lesbians should not be permitted to adopt in North Carolina.

A three-judge panel unanimously ruled that Boseman's adoption was legal. Jarrell's lawyers have asked the state's high court to reconsider on several grounds. Because the appeals court was unanimous, Jarrell has not right to appeal and must convince the Supreme Court to hear the case. Such petitions are rarely granted.

Document(s):
jarrell_petition.pdf

Judges hear video poker arguments

mbieseck — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:40:57 -0400

The lawyer for a Fayetteville amusement machine vendor said in court Wednesday that North Carolina lacks a consistent public policy toward gambling when it allows Cherokee Indians to run video poker machines while banning such gaming everywhere else.

Lawyers for the state and the vendor traded arguments before the state Court of Appeals over the legality of a 2006 state law that made machines illegal except on the Cherokee reservation, west of Asheville. A trial court judge in Wake County overturned the law in February.

The three-member appeals panel grilled vendor attorney Hugh Stevens, asking pointed questions about a federal American Indian gambling law that provides the basis for the state's agreement with the Cherokees that allows the tribe to operate a casino. At several points in the hearing, the judges appeared openly skeptical of Stevens’ position that the state law should be struck down.

Court: leave highway $ alone

markjohnson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:37:25 -0400

The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that then-Gov. Mike Easley acted unconstitutionally in 2002 when he seized $80 million from the Highway Trust Fund to balance the budget.

The court's decision could restrict what steps governors can take during financial crises.

The majority of the three judge panel, Judge Robert N. Hunter Jr. and Judge Barbara Jackson, ruled that the state constitution does not give the governor authority to take money appropriated for one purpose -- road building, in this case -- and use it for another.

Judge Linda McGee dissented, saying the majority's decision removes the governor's ability to act quickly in a crisis.

UPDATE: Gov. Beverly Perdue plans to appeal the decision to the N.C. Supreme Court, according to spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson.

Center praises Supreme Court ruling

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:37:52 -0400

Supporters of judicial campaign financing are citing a recent Supreme Court decision.

In a 5-4 decision in Caperton v. Massey, the high court ruled that a West Virginia Supreme Court justice should not have been involved in a case involving a coal-mining executive who spent more than $3 million to help get him elected.

The justice ruled in favor of his campaign donor, overturning a $50 million jury award.

The N.C. Center for Voter Education, which backed North Carolina's public financing for state Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges, said the case was a prime example of the problems with judges raising large sums of money on their own.

"Whether or not judges are actually biased in favor of a litigant who contributes to a campaign isn't the issue. Of more concern is the appearance that justice is for sale," said executive director Damon Circosta.

The center filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Caperton asking the Supreme Court to find a due process violation.