In an unsigned opinion from the entire court, the N.C. Supreme Court sided with N.C. legislators today in a dispute over access to the NC Pre-K program. Supreme Court justices ruled that decisions made in the General Assembly in 2012 rendered the case “moot.”
The 2012 amendments enacted by the General Assembly in the wake of the trial court’s [2011] order are readily comparable to the intervening legislation in McCluney. The repeal of subsection 10.7(h) and the alteration of subsection 10.7(f) constitute “material and substantial” changes to the provisions that the trial court found unconstitutional. Accordingly, we conclude that the questions originally in controversy between the parties are no longer at issue and that this appeal is moot. We express no opinion on the legislation now in effect because questions of its constitutionality are not
before us. Our mandates in Leandro and Hoke County remain in full force and effect. [Citations omitted.]
Among other N.C. Supreme Court opinions released this afternoon:
- Without dissent, the justices affirmed a ruling from the N.C. Court of Appeals that struck a blow against a Caswell County man challenging the state’s Felony Firearms Act.
- A unanimous high court reversed the Appeals Court in another gun-related case, ruling that the state presented sufficient evidence to convict a man on felony firearm possession charges arising from a 2009 Goldsboro case.
- Justices deadlocked 3-3, with Justice Cheri Beasley not participating, on a case involving Ford Motor Company’s attempt to dismiss a product liability suit over an improperly designed seatbelt. Because the Supreme Court reached no decision, the lawsuit proceeds.
