UPDATE September 2013: A superior court judge affirmed the power of amotion for removal of a county commissioner. The judge’s order is summarized here. With apologies to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and with assurances that I haven’t left out … Read more
I sometimes get questions about the ubiquitous “approved as to form,” which appears on official documents, signed by the local government attorney. Is this just typical boilerplate, or is it a legal requirement for a contract, ordinance, or other official … Read more
When it comes to local government authority in North Carolina, it’s a lot easier to say what we’re not than what we are. North Carolina is not a home rule state. We’re variously described as a “Dillon’s Rule” or “broad … Read more
A recurring subject of First Amendment case law has to do with monuments in public parks. The latest opinion from the United States Supreme Court on this subject holds (unanimously) that the placement of a permanent monument in a public … Read more
A few of my posts have discussed the limited bases upon which city and county board members may be excused from voting, and the lack of clarity in the statutes about how this should be done. I’ve mostly focused on … Read more
State law creates an affirmative duty for local governing board members to vote on matters that come before the board. Last week’s post discussed provisions that allow members to be excused from voting for specific reasons. In all other cases, … Read more
The subject of conflicts of interest for city and county elected officials has both legal and ethical dimensions. In the legal realm, there are two main statutory provisions: 1) the contracting statute, which creates criminal liability when a public official … Read more
When it comes to litigation involving freedom of expression in public places, the three-part forum analysis is, by now, pretty familiar. There’s the traditional public forum, the nonpublic forum, and the limited (sometimes called “designated” or “quasi”) public forum. Courts … Read more