Griffin opposes SCONC bypassing Appeals Court in election dispute
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Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin opposes a request to have that court bypass the state Court of Appeals in addressing Griffin's election dispute.
Both the State Board of Elections and Democratic candidate Allison Riggs support the state's highest court taking the case back before the Appeals Court considers the dispute.
"The risks are significant," Griffins' lawyers wrote in a court filing Wednesday.
Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin urged that court Wednesday not to bypass North Carolina’s second-highest court to address Griffin’s election dispute. The State Board of Elections and Democratic candidate Allison Riggs support moving the case directly to the high court.
Griffin, a state Appeals Court judge, trails the appointed incumbent Justice Riggs by 734 votes out of 5.5 million ballots cast in the Nov. 5 election. Two recounts have confirmed Riggs’ lead. Yet Griffin is asking state courts to throw out more than 65,000 votes.
A Jan. 7 stay from the state Supreme Court has blocked the elections board from certifying Riggs as the election’s winner.
Wake County Superior Court Judge William Pittman issued three one-page orders on Feb. 7 rejecting Griffin’s three sets of ballot challenges. Griffin appealed Pittman’s rulings to the Court of Appeals.
The elections board, supported by Riggs, is asking the Supreme Court to take the case back before the Appeals Court addresses the dispute.
“The State Board of Elections now asks this Court to do something extraordinary: to bypass the Court of Appeals and intervene in a case that has yet to receive any articulated judicial analysis,” Griffin’s lawyers wrote Wednesday. “This request is not just procedurally irregular — it’s a stark reversal of the Board’s own arguments from just weeks ago.”
The elections board had opposed Griffin’s initial effort to have the state Supreme Court address the dispute directly. The high court agreed with the elections board to have the case returned to Superior Court, where state law dictates election protests should be heard.
“Now, having won that battle, the Board urges this Court to leapfrog the very process it demanded,” Griffin’s lawyers wrote.
Pittman “issued three identical, one-paragraph orders after a hearing during which no questions were asked,” Griffin’s court filing continued.
“Because these orders omit the superior court’s reasoning, they do not afford the parties or the public the robust judicial review that this case deserves,” Griffin’s lawyers argued. “Granting the Board’s bypass petition would compound this error, as it would have this Court review a skeletal record in lieu of the Court of Appeals’ expedited efforts to provide the first reasoned analysis of Judge Griffin’s election protests.”
“The risks are significant,” the court filing warned.
The 15-member Court of Appeals hears cases in three-judge panels. With Griffin not participating, Republicans outnumber Democrats, 11-3.
Republicans hold a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court, with a 5-1 advantage when Riggs sits out the current election dispute. One Republican, Justice Richard Dietz, voted against granting Griffin a stay in January. The decision split the high court, 4-2.
“If this Court grants review now, it risks adjudicating these disputes as a six-member panel — a structure vulnerable to deadlock, which could trigger default affirmance of the superior court’s cursory orders,” Griffin’s lawyers wrote. “Such an outcome could render judicial review of no value and undermine public confidence in the fairness of this election.”
“It makes more sense to let the Court of Appeals do its work,” the court filing added. “The Court of Appeals has already expedited its review and is moving swiftly. Its forthcoming analysis will clarify the legal questions, narrow the scope of this Court’s potential review, and honor this Court’s mandate to preserve the appellate process. Circumventing this step would disregard the normal appellate process and foreclose the benefits of intermediate review.”
The Appeals Court has expedited its timeline for the case. The final written arguments would be submitted by March 3 under that court’s schedule.
North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park filed paperwork Monday on behalf of the elections board. The board asked the state Supreme Court to bypass the Appeals Court to address Griffin’s complaints.
“Immediate review is appropriate because the subject matter of this appeal has significant public interest, the appeal involves legal principles of major significance, and delay in this Court’s review is likely to cause substantial harm,” Park wrote. The elections board asked for a decision on its request by March 3.
Riggs’ lawyers filed a document Tuesday supporting the elections board’s proposal.
The Supreme Court already has addressed the case once. Griffin filed a request with the high court on Dec. 18 to issue a writ of prohibition blocking the elections board from certifying Riggs as the election’s winner.
After a trip to federal court, the case returned to the state Supreme Court on Jan. 6. On the following day, the court voted, 4-2, to grant a temporary stay. On Jan. 22, the court denied Griffin’s request for a writ of prohibition, left the stay in place, and sent the case back to a trial court. Justices urged the Superior Court to act expeditiously.
Riggs continues to serve on the state Supreme Court while the legal dispute continues. Griffin also serves in his post on the Appeals Court.
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