STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY KELLY ALEXANDER, Jr. DONALD R. CURETON, Jr., ALICIA D. BROOKS, KIMBERLY Y. BEST, LAURENE L. CALLENDER, AND LATRICIA H. WARD, _____________PLAINTIFFS__________ VS. NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS; STELLA ANDERSON, SECRETARY; JEFF CARMON III, KENNETH RAYMOND; DAVID C. BLACK, DAMON CIRCOSTA MEMBERS; KAREN BINKS BELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITIES ON THE STATE BOARD; ROY A. COOPER, III, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; PHILLIP E. BERGER, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SENATE; AND TIMOTHY K. MOORE, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, _____________DEFENDANTS___________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 19 CvS ___________
VERIFIED COMPLAINT DECLARATORY JUDGMENT MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION THREE JUDGE PANEL REQUESTED
Plaintiffs allege the following:
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1.
This is a facial challenge to the constitutionality of North Carolina Session Law 2018-14 (S.L. 2018-14, § 7A-133), which separates Mecklenburg County voters and District Court election candidates into eight voting districts (“Voting Subdistricts”) for the purpose of nominating and electing District Court judges. 2.
The transactions and occurrences alleged in this Complaint present a common nucleus of law proving S.L. 2018-14 violates rights guaranteed under the North Carolina Constitution Article I, Sections 1,2,3,6,10,12,14,19,35, and 36; Article IV, Sections 1,2,10,12(4), and 22; and Article VI, Sections 1,2,6, and 8 as well as rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution’s First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. 3.
The rights guaranteed under the North Carolina Constitution supplement rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution, including the “core” political rights to vote, to be eligible for election to office, and to participate in political affairs on an equal basis. 4.
State and Federal equal protection claims are analogous to one another because they both protect the core political rights to vote, to assemble, to petition, and to be eligible to be elected to office free from invidious classifications and structural election mechanisms which dilute those rights. 5.
Article IV, Section 1 of the North Carolina Constitution prohibits the General Assembly from the creation of courts not authorized by Article IV.
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6.
Article IV, Section 2 of the North Carolina Constitution requires all courts to be a part of a “unified judicial system for purpose of jurisdiction, operation and administration.” 7.
Article IV, Section 12(4) of the North Carolina Constitution requires the General Assembly, by general law uniformly applicable in every local court district in the State, to prescribe the jurisdiction and powers of the District Courts. 8.
The jurisdiction, operation, and administration of Mecklenburg District Courts, including election of District Court judges, is defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 7A-140, 7A-133 (hereinafter “S.L.-149”), and 7A-200. 9.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-140 requires that each district judge “shall be elected by the qualified voters of the District Court district in which he or she is to serve . . ..” and N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-200 defines “District” as set forth in S.L. 2018-14 as one that “consists exclusively of one or more entire counties.” 10.
Notwithstanding that § N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-140 requires “District[s]” to “consist exclusively of one or more entire counties,” S.L. 2018-14 splits judicial district 26, Mecklenburg County, into 8 Voting Subdistricts denominated respectively as “District” 26A through 26H. 11.
After the passage of S.L. 2018-14, District Court judge candidates may register as a candidate only in a Voting Subdistrict in which they reside.