Fourth Circuit allows North Carolina Supreme Court election dispute to stay in state court
RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A Fourth Circuit panel decided Tuesday that state court is the place for North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin’s challenge to the election results for his state Supreme Court associate justice race, although that may change in the future.
In an unpublished opinion, the panel of judges remanded the case back to a Raleigh court and partially affirmed a lower federal court’s decision to abstain from finding on the issues of the case.
Issues over North Carolina election law could be resolved through state court without needing to address federal constitutional issues, they said. The panel added that if the North Carolina board of elections is successful in Raleigh court — where they've asked the court to deny Griffin judicial review — it may not be necessary to hear arguments over federal issues.
“Federal courts have discretion to refrain from resolving a case pending in federal court that involves state law claims and potential federal constitutional issues if the resolution of those unsettled questions of state law could obviate the need to address the federal issues,” the panel unanimously found.
https://www.courthousenews.com/fourth-circuit-allows-north-carolina-supreme-court-election-dispute-to-stay-in-state-court/
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