sam ervin
September 15, 2022 -
In recent years, the North Carolina Supreme Court has addressed persistent injustices in the criminal legal system, including racism in jury selection. But the court could reverse course if Republicans win a majority this November.
October 31, 2014 -
In the first year since the demise of the state's judicial public financing program, candidate fundraising and outside spending have pushed the cost of North Carolina court elections to a record high.
October 17, 2014 -
In the first election since the end of North Carolina's judicial public financing program, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals candidates have raised nearly three times the amount of individual contributions as they had in recent elections -- and much of that money is coming from those with matters before the courts.
September 11, 2014 -
A Facing South analysis finds that candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are set to spend record sums on campaign ads in the coming weeks. The election will be the first in a decade without the state's public financing program for judges, and special-interest money is pouring in.
March 7, 2014 -
In the wake of a massive coal ash spill, Duke Energy's influence with North Carolina lawmakers has drawn heightened scrutiny. But as the utility giant faces new legal challenges, what influence does it have in state courts?
October 18, 2013 -
A redistricting lawsuit has landed in the N.C. Supreme Court, where plaintiffs are seeking the recusal of Justice Paul Newby because his 2012 re-election campaign got much of its support from the same GOP group involved in drawing the new political maps. They cite a similar case out of West Virginia that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled for recusal.
June 14, 2013 -
With special-interest spending on judicial races soaring, a new study finds that a state supreme court justice who gets half of his or her contributions from business groups votes in favor of business interests two-thirds of the time.