The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled for the plaintiff in Adkins v. Stanley County Board of Education, a case in which we represented the North Carolina Advocates for Justice in an amicus brief filed with the Court.  Reversing the trial judge, the Court of Appeals concluded that the judge had inappropriately overruled an earlier judge’s ruling on the core First Amendment issue in this employment retaliation case.

Although the two judge’s rulings were at different phases in the case, they both ruled on the same question of law.  In such situations, a trial judge cannot overrule an earlier judge’s decision — that is the province of the appellate courts.  The Court thus did not reach the state constitutional question presented in the NCAJ’s amicus brief.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Amicus, Appeals, Burton Craige, Constitutional Law, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, Results

The North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), along with the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, North Carolina Association of Educators, and North Carolina Troopers Association, have submitted an amicus brief to the N.C. Court of Appeals in Adkins v. Stanly County Board of Education.  The brief argues that the school board violated the plaintiff’s right of access to the courts, in violation of the Open Courts provision of the State Constitution, by firing her because she had filed a lawsuit in state court against the board and defendant Talley.   Burton Craige and Narendra Ghosh represented the NCAJ on the brief.

Categories: News of the Firm Tags: Amicus, Appeals, Briefs, Burton Craige, Constitutional Law, Labor and Employment, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, NCAJ