Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Exum could mediate a settlement of the criminal libel law dispute pitting the state attorney general against Wake County’s district attorney. Paperwork filed Friday in U.S. District Court shows that competing parties in the case titled Grimmett v. Freeman have agreed to use the 87-year-old Exum as a mediator.
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein’s fight against a 1931 state criminal libel law could stretch into the summer, if the case survives a challenge at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Paperwork filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court sets out tentative dates for the case titled Grimmett v. Freeman.
A three-judge U.S. Appeals Court panel spelled out its concerns Tuesday about a state criminal libel law that could be used against N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein. The same panel issued a 2-1 ruling in August that blocked the Wake County district attorney from enforcing the law against Stein.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that New Hampshire’s criminal libel law does not violate the First Amendment. But lawyers representing N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein argue that New Hampshire case should not hurt Stein’s criminal libel challenge at the 4th Circuit. Oral arguments in Stein's case are set for Dec. 6.
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein argues the state election law he’s challenging in federal court “threatens to chill speech at the heart of our democratic process.” Stein’s lawyers make that argument in their latest filing with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Dec. 6.