The N.C. Court of Appeals has reversed a trial-court ruling in a controversial case involving Winston-Salem police. The appellate judges agreed with police officers that transcripts in their personnel files should not be disclosed as requested by the Silk Plant Forest Review Committee. Winston-Salem City Council had formed that group in 2007 to review the police investigation of the 1995 assault and robbery of Jill Marker, which had led to the conviction of Kalvin Michael Smith. The Silk Plant Forest committee revealed in 2009 that it did not believe Smith was involved in the crime and questioned the police’s investigation of the case.

In other opinions released this morning:

  • In a 73-page opinion, a unanimous three-judge panel tossed most of the arguments of Wachovia shareholders who contest the settlement of an initial shareholder lawsuit challenging the Charlotte bank’s merger with Wells Fargo. But the Appeals Court did send the case back to the trial court for more work on the issue of attorney’s fees.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel reversed a trial-court ruling and will allow a former employee to sue the Swain County sheriff on a wrongful discharge claim.
  • A split panel delivered some good news and bad news this morning to a former UNC Medical School researcher challenging her 2006 dismissal. While the judges ruled 2-1 that petitioner Yan-Min Wang’s job offered protection under the Whistleblower’s Act, the opinion sent the case back to the UNC Board of Governors to determine whether Wang’s whistleblower claims were legitimate. Appellate judges tossed the rest of Wang’s arguments.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel ordered a new trial in a dispute over just compensation Charlotte owes property owners for the taking of their property for a temporary construction easement from 2007 to 2009.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a trial-court ruling favoring Pinehurst in a challenge involving a special-use permit granted for a new Village Chapel learning center.