North Carolina Court Packing

For more than 100 years, North Carolina citizens have exercised their right under our constitution to elect justices to the state Supreme Court. On November 8, voters elected Judge Mike Morgan to the Court by a 54-46 margin – a difference of nearly 350,000 votes.

Last Friday Governor McCrory announced a special legislative session beginning on December 13. Although the stated purpose is to help victims of Hurricane Matthew and the wildfires in western North Carolina, it has been widely reported that legislative leaders intend to use the special session to pack the Supreme Court. Seeking to insulate its laws from impartial judicial review, the legislature would add two seats to the Court, to be filled by Governor McCrory in his final days in office.

If the General Assembly packs the Court, it will seize control of the judiciary, undermining the system of checks and balances that is essential to our democracy. The citizens of North Carolina deserve a Supreme Court that will exercise judicial independence, not one that will rubber stamp unconstitutional legislation.