• by Ray Schultz , August 23, 2022

Breaking: The U.S. Court of Appeals has blocked enforcement of a 91 tear-old criminal libel law in North Carolina, a victory for Attorney General Josh Stein and campaign associates who could have faced charges under the law.

The decision came shortly as the Wake County grand jury asked the district attorney general to submit an indictment for it to consider under the controversial law.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the the Stein campaign made "a ‘strong showing that [they are] likely to succeed on the merits’ of their First Amendment challenge. Because this statute regulates ‘core political speech,’ First Amendment concerns are at their ‘zenith’ and we must subject the statute to particularly careful constitutional examination.”

Arguments have been postponed until December--after the mid-term elections, according to reports.  

The grand jury had requested for an indictment it could review: “The jurors for the State upon their oath present and request that the District Attorney of this county submit for grand jury consideration an indictment against any of the following marked and identified persons for an offense in violation of N.G.C.S. 

• Joshua Stein 
• Seth Dearmin 
• Others"   

The Josh Stein for Attorney General campaign had made an emergency filing with the Fourth Circuit  Court of Appeals last week to prevent being hit with an indictment. The misdemeanor charges reportedly could result in a six-month jail sentence. 

The case concerns slurs exchanged between the primary campaigns of Democrat Stein and Republican Jim O’Neill for the office of Attorney General. O’Neill charged that Stein had let unused rape kits pile up.

Stein retaliated with a “corrective advertisement,” charging that O’Neill had a large backlog of such kits in his own jurisdiction in Forsyth County.  

O’Neill, who is Forsyth County DA, disputed this ad, and filed a libel suit under the old law. The Stein camp countered that the ad was accurate. 

U.S. Judge Catherine C. Eagles declined to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law, and the Stein campaign filed their appeal.  

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said “The idea that the government can criminally prosecute a person for expressing a legitimate political opinion runs counter to the First Amendment and threatens anyone who wants to criticize a public official,” according to the News & Observer.  

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, whose office is pursing the charges, is also a Democrat. 

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is following the case, fearing its possible impact on media. 

Note: This story was updated to reflect the Appeals Court decision.