Attorney(s) appearing for the Case
ARGUED: Anna Marks Baldwin , United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; Penda D. Hair , Advancement Project, Washington, D.C.; Allison Jean Riggs , Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellants. Thomas A. Farr , Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, PC, Raleigh, North Carolina; Alexander McClure Peters , North Carolina Department Of Justice, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Denise D. Lieberman , Donita Judge, Caitlin Swain , Advancement Project, Washington, D.C.; Irving Joyner , Cary, North Carolina; Adam Stein , Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, PLLC, Chapel Hill , North Carolina; Daniel T. Donovan , Bridget K. O'Connor , K. Winn Allen , Michael A. Glick , Ronald K. Anguas, Jr. , Madelyn A. Morris , Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellants North Carolina State Conference of Branches of the NAACP, Rosanell Eaton, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Bethel A. Baptist Church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Barbee's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Inc., Armenta Eaton, Carolyn Coleman, Jocelyn Ferguson-Kelly, Faith Jackson, Mary Perry, and Maria Teresa Unger Palmer. Edwin M. Speas , John O'Hale , Caroline P. Mackie , Poyner Spruill LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina; Joshua L. Kaul , Madison, Wisconsin, Marc E. Elias , Bruce V. Spiva , Elisabeth C. Frost , Amanda Callais , Washington, D.C., Abha Khanna , Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle, Washington, for Appellants Louis M. Duke, Josue E. Berduo, Nancy J. Lund, Brian M. Miller, Becky Hurley Mock, Lynne M. Walter, and Ebony N. West. Dale E. Ho , Julie A. Ebenstein , Sophia Lin Lakin , American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc., New York, New York; Christopher Brook , ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina; Anita S. Earls , George Eppsteiner , Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Durham, North Carolina for Appellants League of Women Voters of North Carolina, North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, Unifour Onestop Collaborative, Common Cause North Carolina, Goldie Wells, Kay Brandon, Octavia Rainey, Sara Stohler, and Hugh Stohler. Ripley Rand , United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, Gill P. Beck , Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, Gregory B. Friel , Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Justin Levitt , Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Diana K. Flynn , Christine H. Ku , Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellant United States of America. L. Gray Geddie, Jr. , Phillip J. Strach , Michael D. McKnight , Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, PC, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees State of North Carolina and North Carolina State Board of Elections; Karl S. Bowers, Jr. , Bowers Law Office LLC, Columbia, South Carolina, Robert C. Stephens , Office of the Governor of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee Patrick L. McCrory. Elizabeth B. Wydra , Brianne J. Gorod , David H. Gans , Constitutional Accountability Center, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Constitutional Accountability Center. Claire Prestel , Ryan E. Griffin , James & Hoffman, P.C., Washington, D.C.; Mary Joyce Carlson , Washington, D.C.; Judith A. Scott , Lauren Bonds , Katherine Roberson-Young , Service Employees International Union, Washington, D.C., for Amici Stacey Stitt, Maria Diaz, Robert Gundrum, Misty Taylor, and Service Employees International Union. Mark R. Sigmon , Sigmon Law, PLLC, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Amicus Democracy North Carolina. Mark Dorosin , Elizabeth Haddix , Brent Ducharme , UNC Center for Civil Rights, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for Amicus UNC Center for Civil Rights. Jeanette Wolfley , Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico School Of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Arnold Locklear , Locklear, Jacobs, Hunt & Brooks, Pembroke, North Carolina for Amici Pearlein Revels, Louise Mitchell, Eric Locklear, and Anita Hammonds Blanks. Bradley J. Schlozman , Hinkle Law Firm LLC, Wichita, Kansas; Chris Fedeli , Lauren M. Burke , Judicial Watch, Inc., Washington, D.C.; H. Christopher Coates , Law Office of H. Christopher Coates, Charleston, South Carolina, for Amici Judicial Watch, Inc. and Allied Educational Foundation. Michael A. Carvin , Anthony J. Dick , Stephen A. Vaden , Jones Day, Washington, D.C., for Amici Senators Thom Tillis, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and the Judicial Education Project. Maya M. Noronha , Trevor M. Stanley , E. Mark Braden , Richard B. Raile , Baker & Hostetler LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Lawyers Democracy Fund. Joshua P. Thompson , Christopher M. Kieser , Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, California, for Amici Pacific Legal Foundation, Center for Equal Opportunity, and Project 21. Steven J. Lechner , Mountain States Legal Foundation, Lakewood, Colorado, for Amicus Mountain States Legal Foundation. Joseph A. Vanderhulst , Public Interest Legal Foundation, Plainfield, Indiana, for Amicus American Civil Rights Union. Gregory F. Zoeller , Attorney General of Indiana, Thomas M. Fisher , Solicitor General, Winston Lin , Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Indiana Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana; Luther Strange , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama; Mark Brnovich , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona; Leslie Rutledge , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas; Sam Olens , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia; Derek Schmidt , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Kansas, Topeka, Kansas; Bill Schuette , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan; Wayne Stenehjem , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of North Dakota, Bismarck, North Dakota; Michael DeWine , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio; E. Scott Pruitt , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Alan Wilson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina; Ken Paxton , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Austin, Texas; Patrick Morrisey , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of West Virginia, Charleston, West Virginia; Brad D. Schimel , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, for Amici States of Indiana, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge Motz wrote the opinion for the court, in which Judge Wynn and Judge Floyd joined except as to Part V.B. Judge Wynn wrote the opinion for the court as to Part V.B., in which Judge Floyd joined. Judge Motz wrote a separate dissenting opinion as to Part V.B.
