In other appellate rulings this morning:

  • A panel split 2-1 in a pair of cases involving students kicked out of a Beaufort County high school for fighting. Both had sued the school system because their long-term suspensions left them with no alternative form of public education. The majority affirmed lower court decisions that dismissed the cases. In a dissent, Judge Martha Geer agreed with the argument: “I believe that Leandro and appellate decisions applying Leandro establish that the state constitutional right to education is a fundamental right.  Because plaintiff has alleged that defendants’ actions have completely denied her this fundamental right and because defendants bear the burden of establishing that their actions were necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest ? a burden not negated by any allegations in the complaint ? I would hold that the trial court improperly dismissed the complaint. …”
  • A unanimous panel is throwing a dispute over a fired N.C. Department of Transportation worker back in the hands of the lower courts and the state Personnel Commission. The case involves a worker fired for his refusal to take a random drug and alcohol test after pleading that he needed to leave work to deal with a family emergency.
  • A unanimous panel affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Shallotte in a zoning dispute.
  • A panel split 2-1 in a dispute involving the city of Newton. The majority opinion upholds a lower court ruling against a man who wants out of an agreement to accept $40,000 for land on which city contractors had mistakenly cut down trees. In a dissent, Judge James Wynn agrees with petitioner James Powell that the agreement never had been finalized in a written deal. 
  • A unanimous panel reversed a lower court’s ruling in a case that has constitutional implications for the state’s court system. The appellate decision upholds the General Assembly’s ability to make rules governing practices and procedures in the state’s district and superior courts, and to provide a system of appeals between those courts.