Free Republic

Raleigh, N.C. – A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Saturday against North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s secretive absentee ballot scheme struck with Gov. Roy Cooper’s Board of Elections and his former campaign attorney, in a case in which state House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) is the lead plaintiff. In a ruling siding with voters and state lawmakers while transferring their case to other litigation, U.S. District Court Judge James Dever said the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order is “in the public interest.” “The NCSBOE inequitably and materially upset the electoral status quo in the middle...

A federal judge overturned North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s orders Saturday that sought to cap religious services at no more than 10 people while businesses and other organizations in the state were left to accommodate up to 50. The double standard, District Court Judge James C. Dever ruled in the Eastern District of North Carolina, was an overt show of distrust among those gathering to worship and deemed the directive illegal, according to the News and Observer. “The record, at this admittedly early stage of the case, reveals that the Governor appears to trust citizens to perform non-religious activities...

A federal judge temporarily blocked Gov. Roy Cooper’s restrictions on religious services put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic, in an order released Saturday. Judge James C. Dever III set a hearing for May 29. On Thursday two Baptist churches, a minister and a Christian revival group sued the governor in federal court, saying his executive order violates their First Amendment freedom of religion, The News & Observer reported.