Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Don Stephens and Chief District Court Judge Robert Rader have signed a new administrative order relating to search warrants and the procedures for sealing warrants.  See Order:  Wake Order re Sealing  The administrative…

SMVT partner Amanda Martin weighs in concerning the North Carolina Railroad, which is owned by the State of North Carolina but refuses to provide records explaining how it is financing large land acquisitions. To read the Carolina Journal’s story, click…

Superior Court Judge Joe Craig, who is overseeing a lawsuit in which media companies and advocacy groups allege that Governor McCrory and several of his cabinet agencies are systematically and purposefully refusing to provide timely and complete access to public…

A coalition of news media and advocacy groups have sued Governor Pat McCrory and a host of state departments for alleged violations of the public records law.  Read the complaint here:  N&O v McCrory Amended Complaint

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 699 by a vote of 419-0.  The law requires law enforcement to get a warrant before asking service providers to turn over emails that are more than 180 old.  The bill does not…

Lester Packingham has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a North Carolina law that limits the speech rights of convicted sex offenders.  Read the Packingham Petition here.

In an important 6-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that a demoted employee could pursue his Section 1983 action against his employer.  At the heart of the case was the significance of whether “a government official demoted an employee because…

The Journal, represented by SMVT partner Amanda Martin, persuaded Superior Court Judge Eric Morgan to deny closure motions filed by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education in a civil suit arising out of an incident in which a school board…

“Does the First Amendment still matter?”  That’s the question that  SMVT partner Amanda Martin addressed on Constitution Day (September 17) in a talk to students, faculty and alumni of the UNC School of Law.  You can see how she answered…