Opinion
No. 413P21
12-08-2021
Rebecca HARPER; Amy Clare Oseroff; Donald Rumph; John Anthony Balla; Richard R. Crews; Lily Nicole Quick; Gettyss Cohen, Jr.; Shawn Rush; Jackson Thomas Dunn, Jr.; Mark S. Peters; Kathleen Barnes; Virginia Walters Brien; and David Dwight Brown, Plaintiffs, v. Representative Destin HALL, in his official capacity as Chair of the House Standing Committee on Re districting; Senator Warren Daniel, in his official capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Sena T or Ralph Hise, in his official capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Senator Paul Newton, in his official capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Timothy K. Moore; President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate, Philip E. Berger; the North Carolina State Board of Elections; and Damon Circosta, in his official capacity, Defendants. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, Inc.; Henry M. Michaux, Jr.; Dandrielle Lewis; Timothy Chartier; Talia Fernos; Katherine Newhall; R. Jason Parsley; Edna Scott; Roberta Scott; Yvette Roberts; Jereann King Johnson; Reverend Reginald Wells; Yarbrough Williams, Jr.; Reverend Deloris L. Jerman; Viola Ryals Figueroa; and Cosmos George, Plaintiffs, v. Representative Destin Hall, in his official capacity as Chair of the House Standing Committee on Re districting; Senator Warren Daniel, in his official capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Senator Ralph E. Hise, Jr., in his of ficial capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Senator Paul Newton, in his official capacity as Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections; Representative Timothy K. Moore, in his official capacity as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives; Senator Philip E. Berger, in his official capacity as President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate; The State of North Carolina; the North Carolina State Board of Elections; Damon Circosta, in his official capacity as Chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Elections; Stella Anderson, in her official capacity as Secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Elections; Jeff Carmon III, in his official capacity as Member of the North Carolina State Board of Elections; Stacy Eggers IV, in his official capacity as Member of the North Carolina State Board of Elections; Tommy Tucker, in his official capacity as Member of the North Carolina State Board of Elections; and Karen Brinson Bell, in her official capacity as Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections
Narendra K. Ghosh, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For Harper, Rebecca, et al. Terence Steed, Assistant Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al. Amar Majmundar, Senior Deputy Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al. Stephanie A. Brennan, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al. Burton Craige, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For Harper, Rebecca, et al. Paul E. Smith, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For Harper, Rebecca, et al. Phillip J. Strach, Attorney at Law, For Hall, Destin, et al. Alyssa Riggins, Attorney at Law, For Hall, Destin, et al. John E. Branch, III, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For Hall, Destin, et al. Thomas A. Farr, Attorney at law, Raleigh, For Hall, Destin, et al. Stephen D. Feldman, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al. Adam K. Doerr, Attorney at Law, Charlotte, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al. Erik R. Zimmerman, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al. Ryan Y. Park, Solicitor General, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein. James W. Doggett, Deputy Solicitor General, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein. Zachary W. Ezor, Solicitor General Fellow, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein. Kellie Z. Myers, Trial Court Administrator.
Narendra K. Ghosh, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For Harper, Rebecca, et al.
Terence Steed, Assistant Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al.
Amar Majmundar, Senior Deputy Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al.
Stephanie A. Brennan, Special Deputy Attorney General, For State Board of Elections, et al.
Burton Craige, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For Harper, Rebecca, et al.
Paul E. Smith, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For Harper, Rebecca, et al.
Phillip J. Strach, Attorney at Law, For Hall, Destin, et al.
Alyssa Riggins, Attorney at Law, For Hall, Destin, et al.
John E. Branch, III, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For Hall, Destin, et al.
Thomas A. Farr, Attorney at law, Raleigh, For Hall, Destin, et al.
Stephen D. Feldman, Attorney at Law, Raleigh, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al.
Adam K. Doerr, Attorney at Law, Charlotte, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al.
Erik R. Zimmerman, Attorney at Law, Chapel Hill, For N.C. League of Conservation Voters, Inc., et al.
Ryan Y. Park, Solicitor General, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein.
James W. Doggett, Deputy Solicitor General, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein.
Zachary W. Ezor, Solicitor General Fellow, For Gov. Cooper and AG Stein.
Kellie Z. Myers, Trial Court Administrator.
ORDER
Plaintiffs’ Petitions for Discretionary Review Prior to Determination by the Court of Appeals, Motion to Suspend Appellate Rules to Expedite a Decision, and Motion to Suspend Appellate Rules and Expedite Schedule, filed in these consolidated cases on 6 December 2021 are allowed as follows:
In light of the great public interest in the subject matter of these cases, the importance of the issues to the constitutional jurisprudence of this State, and the need for urgency in reaching a final resolution on the merits at the earliest possible opportunity, the Court grants a preliminary injunction and temporarily stays the candidate-filing period for the 2022 elections for all offices until such time as a final judgment on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims, including any appeals, is entered and a remedy, if any is required, has been ordered.
1. Defendants are hereby enjoined from conducting elections for any public offices in the state on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 and, consistent with the response and affidavit of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, defendants instead are directed to hold primaries for all offices on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. The trial court is authorized to issue any orders necessary to accomplish the resulting changes in the election schedule, including implementing shortened filing periods and other administrative adjustments.
2. Any individual who has already filed to run for public office in 2022 and whose filing has been accepted by the appropriate board of elections, will be deemed to have filed for the same office under the new election schedule for the May 2022 primary unless they provide timely notice of withdrawal of their candidacy to the board of elections during the newly-established filing period; and except to the extent that a remedy in this matter, if any, impacts a candidate's eligibility to hold the office for which they have currently filed. Any individual who has properly withdrawn their candidacy is free to file for any other office for which they may be eligible during the reopened filing period.
3. The trial court is directed to hold proceedings necessary to reach a ruling on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims and to provide a written ruling on or before Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
4. Any party wishing to appeal the trial court's ruling must file a Notice of Appeal within two business days of the trial court's ruling, exclusive of weekends and holidays, in the trial court and with this Court, and should expect that an expedited briefing and hearing schedule in this Court will commence immediately thereafter.
The Petition for Writ of Supersedeas and Motion for Temporary Stay are dismissed as moot.
By order of the Court in Conference, this the 8th day of December, 2021.