Under the Dome: NC Supreme Court appears skeptical of challenge to McCrory backers

Hello and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. Kyle Ingram here.

NC Supreme Court appears skeptical of voter defamation claim against McCrory backers

The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a seven-year-long defamation case involving false claims of voter fraud made by supporters of former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.

After losing to Gov. Roy Cooper in the 2016 gubernatorial race, McCrory formed a legal defense fund, which pursued election protests against allegedly ineligible voters.

Several voters who were falsely accused of fraud, such as voting twice, sued the fund in 2017 for defamation.

The question before the court this week was whether the out-of-state lawyers who helped bring the claims — but did not directly file protests — are immune from being sued.

In 2021, the N.C. Court of Appeals sided with the voters, ruling that the case could continue — but that ruling was blocked when the Supreme Court said it would take up the case.

Justices on Thursday appeared skeptical of the voters’ argument that the case should continue, questioning why these lawyers wouldn’t be granted the same legal immunity that participants in judicial proceedings are typically given.

“I’m just not seeing how you can win this case without completely upending all of the case law we have,” Justice Richard Dietz said.

Press Millen, the lawyer for the voters, argued that this immunity does not apply to members of McCrory’s legal defense fund because they were not directly involved in the proceedings, having asked local activists to file the election protests instead.

“A person is not simply granted an immunity willy-nilly, but has to earn that immunity in a sense by fulfilling some actual role in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding as a party, as an attorney, a witness or a judge,” Millen said.

The lawyer for McCrory’s supporters, Craig Schauer, argued that this standard is without precedent.

“It’s undefined, it’s unnecessary, it’s actually based on a legal fiction and it’s going to result in unwanted consequences,” he said.

The court’s five Republican justices heard the case, with both Democrats having recused themselves since they previously represented the voters bringing the case.

A decision in the case could take anywhere from three to nine months to arrive, one of the lawyers representing the voters said.

Lawsuit against Republican elections law on hold after initial win for Democrats

A legal challenge to a new Republican-crafted elections law is on hold after a judge initially ruled in favor of the Democrats bringing the lawsuit.

Republican legislative leaders, the State Board of Elections and the N.C. Democratic Party all agreed to pause a case challenging Senate Bill 747, a sweeping elections law affecting absentee voting, same-day registration and poll observers.

In January, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder temporarily struck down a portion of the law that reduced the chances voters using same-day registration had to confirm their address.

Following that order, the state elections board implemented a procedure to notify voters if their address couldn’t be verified following same-day registration, giving them a chance to correct the issue before having their registration canceled.

Given these developments and the possibility that lawmakers may address some of the same-day registration issues during the legislative session, all parties asked the court to put the case on hold.

Schroeder agreed on Wednesday, issuing a stay in the case and asking parties to update the court of any relevant developments before the year’s end.

That’s all for today. Check your inbox on Sunday for more #ncpol news.

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