Bowden v. Town of Cary. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-02-0049, 26 pp.) (Louise W. Flanagen, Ch.J.) E.D.N.C. Holding: The defendant-town’s sign ordinance exempts some signs from regulation based on their content. The purposes of the ordinance – aesthetics and traffic control ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Free Speech Municipal Protest

Outgoing Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter S. Gilchrist III was sued Dec. 15 by former Assistant District Attorney Sean P. Smith in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Smith was elected district court judge in November. Gilchrist terminated Smith in July after Smith gave an interview to Charlotte's FOX affiliate about a driving school program Gilchrist developed with the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina in the 1990s.

Tagged with: district attorneys Driving School Free Speech Mecklenburg County Sect. 1983 Wrongful-Discharge Claim

Preston v. Leake. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-02-1082, 16 pp.) (Louise W. Flanagan, Ch.J.) E.D.N.C. Holding: G.S. § 163-13C(a) is closely drawn to limit the corruption and appearance of corruption that might result from lobbyists’ campaign contributions to state legislators. Since ...

Tagged with: Campaign Contributions Constitutional Free Speech Lobbyist