Azige v. Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-299-16, 13 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Robert Ervin, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Plaintiffs’ membership in the defendant-church is disputed; moreover, there are additional ...

Tagged with: First Amendment

State v. Bishop (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-028-16, 19 pp.) (Robin Hudson, J.) Appealed from Alamance County Superior Court (G. Wayne Abernathy, J.) On discretionary review from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: North Carolina’s cyberbullying statute, G.S. § ...

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Bigelow v. Sassafras Grove Baptist Church (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-165-16, 18 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Caswell County Superior Court (W. Osmond Smith III, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The First Amendment does not prohibit our courts from determining whether ...

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McLaughlin v. Bailey (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-005-16, 3 pp.) (Per Curiam) (Sam Ervin IV, J., not participating) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Robert Ervin, J.) On appeal from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: Even if the ...

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Lloyd v. Bailey (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-004-16, 1 p.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Calvin Murphy, J.) On discretionary review from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: For the reasons stated in Young v. Bailey ...

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Young v. Bailey (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-003-16, 11 pp.) (Robert Edmunds Jr., J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (W. Robert Bell, J.) On discretionary review from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: According to G.S. § 153A-99, ...

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Cartwright v. Town of Plymouth (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-02-0880, 19 pp.) (Louise Flanagan, J.) 2:14-cv-00039; E.D.N.C. Holding: Plaintiff Cartwright alleges that he was fired based on speech pertaining to a grievance over the grounds upon which he was suspended; as ...

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However ill-advised and rude, flipping off a cop is not a crime, according to a 2013 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

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Davis v. Williams (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0722, 7 pp.) (Wanda Bryant, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Nathaniel Poovey, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The trial court can apply neutral principles of law to determine whether the defendant-church followed its ...

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The Bible instructs followers to “be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,” but the judicial branch has generally preferred to avoid getting tangled up in church governance, at least when disputes would require judges to parse through ...

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