N.C. Deputy Attorney General Alexander Peters put up a strong defense last month against a lawsuit challenging the state’s gerrymandered legislative districts.
The case was argued before a three-judge panel in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.
Plaintiffs, represented by Anita Earls of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, asked the judges to delay the scheduled March 15 primary until they decide the constitutional issues raised by the suit. Peters objected, saying a delay would throw the elections into disarray. He also contended the case isn’t clearly defined. “The General Assembly needs to know what the criteria are, and the plaintiffs haven’t provided one,” he said.
The judges might rule either way. A U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year in an Alabama redistricting case suggests there may be flaws in the approach taken by the North Carolina legislature to heavily concentrate minority voters in a small number of districts.
The point is that the N.C. Department of Justice, led by Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, has vigorously and effectively defended the state’s position — even though that position was crafted by Republicans.
Cooper’s office has had too many opportunities to defend questionable actions by the legislature when the state has been sued by its own cities, such as Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro, and by citizens and organizations on subjects ranging from voting rights to abortion to school vouchers to teacher tenure to vanity license plates. Since last month’s arguments, new lawsuits have challenged the infamous Senate Bill 2, which allows some courthouse employees to opt out of marriage-related duties, and a measure that eliminates true elections for N.C. Supreme Court justices.
Sometimes, the NCDOJ has declined to defend the indefensible. Cooper refused to go to bat for the state’s constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage once he saw the trend of federal court rulings. He was vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down such bans.
He declined to defend the legislature’s bill changing Greensboro’s City Council structure, citing lack of staff time. He also has refused to enter legal frays over immigration and transgendered students.
Sometimes the best choice, and least expensive, is to avoid unnecessary litigation. But that’s not the position of Republican legislators or Gov. Pat McCrory, who want to pull the state into legal battles that might appeal to their political supporters. And they’re willing to spend plenty of taxpayers’ money to do it.
Legislators included $8 million in the current two-year budget for litigation expenses. They and the governor often hire private attorneys to defend their actions, claiming they don’t trust Cooper and his staff. They’ve spent millions already; it’s discouraging that they plan to spend more.
The attorney general is the rightful advocate for the state’s legal positions — even if those positions lack legal merit. Spending millions for more lawyers isn’t a smart use of public funds.
