CARPENTER v. N.C. DEPT. OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Central Carolina Legal Services,

, by Stanley B. Sprague, for petitioner-

Michael F. Easley, Attorney General, by Marilyn A. Bair, Assistant Attorney General, for respondent-appellant Department of Human

Margaret Person Currin, United States Attorney, by R.A. Renfer, Jr., Chief, Civil Division (Raleigh, N.C.), on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture,

Marcia K. Sowles, Attorney, Civil Division (Washington, D.C.), on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, amici