Court of Appeals Coverage

NC appeals court judge falls in GOP primary, as Democratic Supreme Court justice fends off challenger

NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs won the Democratic primary for her seat on the high court. A Republican judge on the Court of Appeals, who faced a rare public censured, lost his primary.

Laura Leslie and Will Doran, WRAL News

Johnston County Racial Justice Act hearing, Feb. 26, 2024

Attorneys for a man on death row argue that racist jury selection hurt his right to a fair trial. The hearing could affect more than 100 death row inmates in North Carolina.

Editorial: Newby transforms N.C. courts to playground to settle petty political feuds

Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 -- The events of this week are not about the administration of justice. Chief Justice Paul Newby and others have manipulated our state's judicial system to settle a political feud.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: Chief Justice Newby plays games with N.C. courts

Friday, Jan. 5, 2023 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Top NC Court of Appeals judge removed from leadership role, without explanation

Judge Donna Stroud, a Republican who has served on the court since 2006 and chief judge since 2021, was quietly removed from the most senior position on the appeals court Monday. She remains in her seat on the bench, but not as chief judge.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

NC Supreme Court gives itself vast new power

The North Carolina Supreme Court quietly gave itself new power to shape the state's laws, drawing criticism from Democratic justices who fear a 'radically destabilizing shift' in the courts.

In three sentences, NC Supreme Court gives itself vast new power

The North Carolina Supreme Court quietly gave itself new power to shape the state's laws, drawing criticism from Democratic justices who fear a 'radically destabilizing shift' in the courts.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Court Reinstates Adnan Syed’s Murder Conviction in ‘Serial’ Case and Orders New Hearing

A Maryland appeals court on Tuesday reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the “Serial” podcast who was freed last year after he had spent 23 years fighting charges that he had killed his former high school girlfriend.

Michael Levenson and Abbie VanSickle, New York Times

Bill could delay future NC governors' efforts to replace retiring appellate judges

North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby will have to retire in four years, and another top Republican judge will have to retire even sooner. Now GOP lawmakers are proposing a bill to push back the mandatory retirement age from 72 to 76.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Court clerk thrown out of office argues (again) for re-instatement

The former Franklin County Clerk of Court, who was removed from office by the court in 2020, is trying once again to get her job back.

Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter

The Wrap @ NC Capitol: Voter ID, redistricting rulings, and 2024 polling for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

The week in North Carolina politics from WRAL's NC Capitol team

Cooper selects voting access advocate Allison Riggs to fill appeals court seat

Riggs will replace a Republican judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Republicans dislike her track record of challenging state voting maps.

Bryan Anderson, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: Legislature's emails are public records, belong to the people, must be maintained

Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 -- Emails don't belong to Senate leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore or Legislative Services Director Paul Coble. The fact that many legislative emails are by law hidden from disclosure, still they are very much PUBLIC records. They are the property of the people.

NC lawsuit on political power hampered by lost emails, delayed by procedure, lawyers say

Lawmaker emails are typically deleted after three years in North Carolina, due to a policy shift last year. Now lawyers say they want old emails for a lawsuit and can't get them.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

Banned Franklin County clerk runs again

Patricia Chastain is on next week's ballot despite being removed from office two years ago following a WRAL investigation into her involvement in a dispute between neighbors.

Decision 2022: North Carolina Supreme Court race

How do you know who to vote for in judicial elections? Ask a lawyer, court clerk or bailiff, legal experts say.

Court clerk thrown out of office following WRAL Investigation is back on the ballot

Patricia Chastain is on next week's ballot despite being removed from office two years ago following a WRAL investigation into her involvement in a dispute between neighbors.

Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter

How to judge a judge: A guide for North Carolina voters

How do you know who to vote for in judicial elections? Ask a lawyer, court clerk or bailiff, legal experts say

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

How NC judicial candidates plan to confront partisan perception on Supreme Court

Republicans Trey Allen and Richard Dietz and Democrats Lucy Inman and Sam Ervin IV are vying for a pair of seats that could affect how future elections are administered.

Bryan Anderson, WRAL state government reporter

Former Person County DA convicted in wife-hiring scheme now facing bribery charges

A former Person County district attorney, already convicted in a corruption case, now faces bribery charges.

NC Supreme Court Justice flouted campaign spending laws, complaint says

State Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. and four other elected leaders may have violated state election laws by giving money to a political action committee, a campaign finance watchdog alleges.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

Franklin County clerk accused of ethical violations won't be able to return to office

An elected official in Franklin County removed from office for a series of ethical violations won't be able to return to that type of work.

WRAL Investigates

NC husband and wife fight to keep their backyard chicken coop, claiming hens as pets

The owners of four chickens are arguing that the animals should be considered pets and therefore be allowed inside their Granville County subdivision.

Jessica Patrick, WRAL multiplatform producer

NC courts face perception of partisanship

Legislative maneuvering, judicial elections and high-profile political lawsuits have prompted allegations of partisan decisions from the benches of North Carolina's highest courts.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief

Editorial: Jeopardizing public trust in N.C. Courts impartiality

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021 -- As Republican legislators now jockey for how legal challenges to their gerrymandering of elections districts are handled, it only shines a brighter light on their efforts to politicize the courts. To whatever degree Republicans may look to point fingers and complain about partisanship in our state's courts, they have only to look in the mirror.