RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina law preventing legal settlements between farms and workers from requiring a farm operation to become a union employer doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday while overturning a lower court decision.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of provisions in North Carolina’s 2017 Farm Act dealing with labor unions. Judges ruled the state can ban lawsuit settlements that force farm owners to recognize unions and collect their dues.
The Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Courthouse, home of the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia. (Acroterion via Wikipedia)
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) A retired Air Force officer’s use of a racial slur toward a Black store clerk did not fall within the “fighting words” exception to free speech protection, the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday.
A U.S. magistrate judge found Lt. Col. Jules Bartow guilty under Virginia’s abusive language statute in a case stemming from a series of rhetorical questions that included a racial slur Bartow posed to a store clerk in 2018.
Cathy Johnson-Felder, a Black sales associate at the Marine Corps Exchange store in Quantico, Virginia, testified that she was involved in a heated exchange with Bartow while he tried on boots. The exchange started off badly, with Johnson-Felder wishing Bartow a good morning.