For the past eight-plus years, North Carolina has had a Democrat as Governor and a Republican-controlled state legislature. Given the current political climate and the animosity between the parties, the results have been fairly predictable as battles have been waged over everything from redistricting to state Supreme Court seats.
Facing the loss of their veto-proof supermajority after the 2024 elections, the GOP-led legislature was very busy during its lame duck session. The state Senate and House passed numerous bills attempting to reduce and curtail the powers of incoming Democrats, including Governor Josh Stein. One threatened to hold up flood disaster relief to North Carolina residents unless it was passed.
On June 24, 2025, a panel from the North Carolina Superior Court offered a split decision on complaints brought by Governor Stein. The unanimous ruling returned the power to make certain judicial appointments to the Governor's office, ruling the legislature's law altering that ability to be unconstitutional. They also denied part of his filing, allowing the dilution of Governor Stein's power over appointing members to certain government councils as well.
Oil and Water, Cats and Dogs, and the Like
The fractious relationship between elected Republicans and Democrats has had the two parties at loggerheads for decades. Mostly a Democrat-favored state in the 1990s and 2000s, North Carolina experienced a seismic political shift in the 2010 elections, which included four years of Republicans controlling both chambers of the legislature and the Governor's office. Democrats retook the governorship in 2017 and have held it since then.
The state has remained a lightning rod for political squabbles, with the latest involving a protracted battle for a state Supreme Court seat. Jefferson Griffin, who lost to incumbent Democrat Alison Riggs by 734 votes, filed numerous suits and motions in an attempt to get votes thrown out (in his election only). After six months of fighting, he finally conceded after suffering several defeats in court.
By using their supermajority control of the North Carolina House and Senate, Republicans have been accused of shaping voting districts to keep themselves in power. But the unexpected results of the 2024 elections removed that sway. So, they passed several laws during the lame duck session between the election and when newly elected lawmakers would assume their positions.
Among the laws rammed through were changes to the state election boards, voting requirements, and the previously mentioned reduction in the Governor's ability to make judicial appointments.
Under the law passed after overriding a veto from then-Governor Roy Cooper, any appointments in the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals would have to be chosen from a slate of three candidates supplied by the political party the former judge was affiliated with.
Other laws passed restricted the Governor's ability to appoint members to the North Carolina Utilities Commission and the state's Building Code Council.
To Be, Rather Than To Seem?
In a suit filed in February 2025, Governor Stein alleged that the law passed by the North Carolina legislature limiting his power to make judicial appointments in the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals was unconstitutional. Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution states that "all vacancies occurring in the offices provided for by this Article shall be filled by appointment of the Governor."
Attorneys for the legislature countered that because Article IV didn't specifically name the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, it didn't apply. They also argued that since the North Carolina Constitution doesn't state that it's illegal for the legislature to impose conditions on the Governor's appointments, the law should stand.
As might be expected, that approach didn't resonate with the panel. The power to make judicial appointments was returned to Governor Stein without the revisions the law had imposed. In both granting and denying summary judgment to both sides, the panel denied Governor Stein's petition to have the changes made to his appointment power over the North Carolina Utilities Commission and the Building Code Council.
If the next six months of political gamesmanship in North Carolina are anything like the past six, the fireworks are sure to keep coming. Whether that's the best scenario for the citizens who depend on the state's leaders to get things done remains to be seen.
Related Resources:
- How Are Judges Selected? (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- What Is a Bicameral Legislature and How Does It Work in the US? (FindLaw's Constitution)
- North Carolina Supreme Court Database (FindLaw's Cases & Codes)
