Bishop Files Suit to Stop Court Secrecy
CHARLOTTE – United States Rep. Dan Bishop filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to force North Carolina judges to disclose their votes on orders that postponed the state’s primary elections.
During the candidate filing period earlier this month, Judges on North Carolina’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court stopped, started, and stopped again the state’s primary election and delayed candidate filing after it began, but kept their votes secret. The Supreme Court even refused to admit which justice signed the order. Of particular concern is Democratic Justice Jimmy Ervin, who filed for office himself then presumably voted to close the filing period and prevent more candidates from filing to run against him.
“It’s breathtaking hypocrisy: judges require legislators to draw maps, debate maps, and vote on new maps in public. But they rule on them in the deepest, darkest recesses of the court system. No matter which side of this issue you’re on, every North Carolinian has a right to this information and everyone should demand transparency from our judges. There are no grounds whatsoever for our courts to operate in secret.”
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Click to view the Verified Complaint and the Motion for Preliminary Injunction documents.