Paul Newby Coverage

Editorial: 'The people' are the last folks legislators seem to care about

Thursday, May 4, 2023 -- The focus of the legislature has been on distracting so-called "cultural agenda" matters that occupy legislators' time and attention while more serious matters - assuring every child has access to a quality education, protecting women's health, appropriate spending on the state's most fundamental needs - get little public attention or discussion.

Editorial: N.C. Supreme Court opens door to rigged elections

Monday, May 1, 2023 -- Should the N.C. Supreme Court's gerrymandering decision stand, it will silence millions of voters and permanently entrench the power of a political party that comprises less than a third of the state's 7.2 million voters.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: Not-so-'fair' elections

Monday, May 1, 2023 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Editorial: Justice Newby needs to do the job voters elected him to do

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 -- North Carolina's Constitution specifically sets the judicial, executive and legislative branches of government as "forever separate and distinct" so each can be a check and balance on the others. It is Chief Justice Paul Newby's job to protect the Constitution. He's been shirking that responsibility.

'Dead wrong': Former Dem judges in state House seek to dial back partisanship in state judiciary

Citing recent decisions by the Republican majority on the NC Supreme Court, three former judges serving as Democrats in the state House have filed a bill to make state judicial elections nonpartisan again and restore the public funding program for those races that lawmakers repealed in 2013.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

NC Supreme Court working on making changes

Days after Republicans flipped the NC Supreme Court majority, the court started discussing new rules that critics now call a power grab, according to a document obtained by WRAL News. The apparent effort comes as the new GOP court has also voted to revisit recent decisions in voting rights cases that favored progressive groups.

Leaked document shows big changes could be underway at GOP-majority NC Supreme Court

Days after Republicans flipped the NC Supreme Court majority, the court started discussing new rules that critics now call a power grab, according to a document obtained by WRAL News. The apparent effort comes as the new GOP court has also voted to revisit recent decisions in voting rights cases that favored progressive groups.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

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

Editorial: Can justice in N.C. still be independent? It must!

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 -- What kind of court is it that can make a determination and then have no authority to enforce corrective action? What kind of justice is there when there is an assumption that judges are already predisposed to certain positions or biases before even hearing arguments or determining facts?

'It turned into politics:' Critics warn that chief justice, Republican lawmakers threaten state office's reputation for impartiality

An independent state office that functions like a court has long had a reputation for stability and impartiality. But its new leader, with help from the legislature, is making waves and consolidating power.

John Drescher and Anne Blythe / The Assembly

MELISSA PRICE KROMM: Will justices side with N.C. kids or extreme politicians?

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 -- North Carolina courts should be free of partisanship, ensuring equal protection for all under the law. ... However, over the past decade, actions by the legislature have increasingly infected our courts with politics and undermined judicial independence.

Editorial: N.C. high court must stand with school children and uphold the state Constitution

Monday, Sept. 1, 2022 -- The future of North Carolina's children and foundations of the state's most basic Constitutional principles reside in a single case now in the hands the state's seven Supreme Court justices. Democracy in North Carolina hangs in the balance. That is no hyperbole.

Editorial: Playing politics with public school children must end. N.C. high court can stop it

Friday, April 29, 2022 -- It is now time for the North Carolina's Supreme Court to act --- do its job -- in pursuit of justice not politics. Order the appropriate state officials and agencies to release and distribute the funds necessary to implement the Comprehensive Remedial Plan to fulfill the promise of a quality education for every child.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: 'And the gavel goes to ...'

Thursday, March 31, 2022 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Editorial: Obey the law. Fully fund court-ordered quality education program

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 -- It is well established law of the land as determined by North Carolina's courts that the executive and legislative branches are not obeying the clearly stated law in our state Constitution concerning every child's right to a quality education.

NC Supreme Court chief justice replaces judge in Leandro case

On Monday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby ordered a change in the judge who oversees the case. Superior Court Judge David W. Lee is off the case and has been replaced with Republican judge Michael Robinson.

Editorial: Gerrymandering's evil - Its impact on voters more than political parties

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 -- Of utmost importance is how gerrymandering silences some voters while giving a megaphone to others. The reality is that the will of voters -- particularly in the state's most populous counties as well as those in rural areas with significant minority populations - is manipulated and made irrelevant.

Editorial: Assuring each vote is more than a mark on a ballot

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 -- It takes some real contortions of logic to come up with any justification that unfair elections are OK. While elections take strategy to win, they are not games where rules are stretched and bended to prejudice a specific outcome. North Carolinians should be thankful that there is a majority on our state's highest court that wants to make sure EVERY vote means something.

Newby takes oath as 30th NC Supreme Court chief justice

Paul Newby is now on the job as head of North Carolina's judicial branch.

Editorial: N.C. Chief Justice Beasley leaves legacy to emulate

Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 -- N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley's determined, concerned and compassionate administration of the state's justice system, since March of this year when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the state and nation, is a lofty legacy to which incoming Chief Justice Paul Newby should aspire.

Republican Supreme Court judge disses all six other NC justices

Justice Paul Newby says he's the only bulwark left against liberal activism on a court full of "AOCs."

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter