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NOTICE OF APPEAL IN LOTTERY CASE FILED NOTICE OF APPEAL IN LOTTERY CASE FILED
A Press Release by the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law

RALEIGH - The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, at the request of the Plaintiffs and with approval of its Board of Directors, has today filed a Notice of Appeal to the N.C. Court of Appeals from the Orders entered by Judge Henry Hight in the Lottery Act litigation. We anticipate that the N.C. Justice Center on behalf of the Plaintiffs/Intervenors may file a separate Notice of Appeal later this week. As soon as the Record on Appeal is filed, it is anticipated that a Petition for Discretionary Review will be filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs/Intervenors with the N.C. Supreme Court requesting the Court to take the case and bypass the Court of Appeals as well as to expedite the briefing and argument schedule.

"As we have indicated from the beginning of this litigation, we feel that there are vitally important constitutional questions relating to the passage of the N.C. Lottery Act that need to be resolved with finality by our state's highest court." said NCICL's Executive Director Robert Orr. "With the lottery beginning in N.C. this week, the need for the quickest possible resolution of these issues is imperative. Millions of dollars will have been taken in by the state and debts incurred by the state to pay winners, while the appeal process moves forward. The constitutional issues involved not only affect the Lottery Act but potentially impact legislative enactments in the future." he added.

"While disappointed in the Trial Court's decision, we still feel strongly about the merits of our constitutional arguments and look forward to presenting them at the appellate level." Orr said.

Thought you might find this press release (March 29, 2006) interesting. they have not updated their website ncicl.org as of yet.