Submitted by BlueNC on
Wed, 04/28/2021 - 08:39
PROTESTERS ARRESTED IN ELIZABETH CITY, FBI BEGINS CIVIL RIGHTS PROBE: Four people, including the Rev. Curtis Gatewood, lay in Elizabeth Street, waiting for arrest as they sang “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around.” All four were arrested, along with at least two others. Protesters have peacefully protested in Elizabeth City each night since last week. Tuesday was the first night Elizabeth City had an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in place. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called Tuesday for a special prosecutor to investigate Brown’s death. And the FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting. By 11 p.m. Tuesday, arrests had been made and police were leaving to shouts of “Shame on you!” A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Pasquotank County Courthouse regarding a petition for the release of the body-cam footage.
Senate Republicans still angry over a legal settlement reached between the State Board of Elections and a union-affiliated group over counting 2020 election absentee ballots approved legislation on Tuesday designed to keep legislators in the loop on future agreements.
“When parties challenging a law or provision of the constitution try to change the law via lawsuit and settlement, and the legislature is a defendant, the legislature should have a seat at the table,” said Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, a primary sponsor of S.B. 360. “This bill is intended to make sure no elections director, whether Ms. Brinson Bell or someone else, ever has the power to secretly executive a mid-election law change via secret settlement with political allies.”
S.B. 360 is part of a two-part election-reform agenda being advanced by Republicans. A second measure, Senate Bill 326, would make several key changes to North Carolina election law, including revising the deadline for absentee ballots.
by Nyamekye Daniel, The Center Square | April 28, 2021 11:00 AM Print this article
The North Carolina Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring legislative leaders to sign off on lawsuit settlements involving the General Assembly that challenge the state’s laws or constitution.
Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, one of Senate Bill 360 s sponsors, said the measure targets collusive settlements, also known as settle-and-sue cases.
According to the legal dictionary, a collusive action is a “lawsuit brought by parties pretending to be adversaries in order to obtain by subterfuge an advisory opinion or precedent-setting decision from the court.”
The legislation was filed in response to a legal settlement that changed election rules ahead of the November election.
Submitted by BlueNC on
Wed, 04/28/2021 - 08:39
PROTESTERS ARRESTED IN ELIZABETH CITY, FBI BEGINS CIVIL RIGHTS PROBE: Four people, including the Rev. Curtis Gatewood, lay in Elizabeth Street, waiting for arrest as they sang “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around.” All four were arrested, along with at least two others. Protesters have peacefully protested in Elizabeth City each night since last week. Tuesday was the first night Elizabeth City had an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in place. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called Tuesday for a special prosecutor to investigate Brown’s death. And the FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting. By 11 p.m. Tuesday, arrests had been made and police were leaving to shouts of “Shame on you!” A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Pasquotank County Courthouse regarding a petition for the release of the body-cam footage.