Tharrington Smith, LLP, Raleigh, by Michael Crowell, Deborah Stagner, Stephen Rawson, and Neal Ramee, for plaintiff-appellees.
Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by John F. Maddrey, Solicitor General; Elizabeth A. Fisher, Assistant Solicitor General; Alexander McC. Peters, Senior Deputy Attorney General; and Melissa L. Trippe, Special Deputy Attorney General, for defendant-appellants.
Graebe, Hanna & Sullivan PLLC, Raleigh, by Mark R. Sigmon; American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, by Christopher Brook, Raleigh and Jenifer Wolfe; and Civitas Institute, Center for Law and Freedom, by Elliot Engstrom, for American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation and Civitas Institute, Center for Law and Freedom, amici curiae.
John V. Orth, pro se, amicus curiae.
Opinion
Appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A–27(a1) from a judgment entered on 4 March 2016 by
a three-judge panel of the Superior Court, Wake County, appointed by the Chief Justice under N.C.G.S. § 1–267.1. Heard in the Supreme Court on 13 April 2016.