HART v. STATE

No. 372A14.

774 S.E.2d 281 (2015)

Alice HART, Rodney Ellis, Judy Chambers, John Harding Lucas, Margaret Arbuckle, Linda Mozell, Yamile Nazar, Arnetta Beverly, Julie Peeples, W.T. Brown, Sara Piland, Donna Mansfield, George Loucks, Wanda Kindell, Valerie Johnson, Michael Ward, T. Anthony Spearman, Brittany Williams, Raeann Rivera, Allen Thomas, Jim Edmonds, Sasha Vrtunski, Priscilla Ndiaye, Don Locke, and Sandra Byrd, Plaintiffs v. STATE of North Carolina and North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, Defendants, and Cynthia Perry, Gennell Curry, Tim Moore, and Phil Berger, Intervenor-Defendants.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

July 23, 2015.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Patterson Harkavy LLP, by Burton Craige , Raleigh, Narendra K. Ghosh , and Paul E. Smith ; Chapel Hill, and North Carolina Justice Center, by Carlene McNulty and Christine Bischoff , Raleigh, for plaintiff-appellees.

Roy Cooper , Attorney General, by Lauren M. Clemmons , Special Deputy Attorney General, for defendant-appellants.

Institute for Justice, Arlington, by Richard D. Komer , pro hac vice, Bert Gall , and Renée Flaherty , pro hac vice; and Shanahan Law Group, PLLC, Raleigh, by John E. Branch, III , for parent intervenor-defendant-appellants Cynthia Perry and Gennell Curry.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, Raleigh, by Noah H. Huffstetler, III , and Stephen D. Martin , for legislative officer intervenor-defendant-appellants Tim Moore and Phil Berger.

American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Raleigh, by Christopher Brook , for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and Interfaith Alliance Foundation, amici curiae.

Liberty, Life, and Law Foundation, by Deborah J. Dewart ; Swansboro, Thomas C. Berg , pro hac vice, Minneapolis, University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota); and Christian Legal Society, by Kimberlee Wood Colby , pro hac vice, for Christian Legal Society; Springfield, North Carolina Christian School Association; Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina; Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina; North Carolina Family Policy Council; Liberty, Life, and Law Foundation; Association of Christian Schools International; American Association of Christian Schools; and National Association of Evangelicals, amici curiae.

Jane R. Wettach , Durham, for Education Scholars and Duke Children's Law Clinic, amici curiae.

Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Charlotte, by Luke Largess ; and National Education Association, Washington, DC, by Philip Hostak , pro hac vice, for National Education Association, amicus curiae.

UNC Center for Civil Rights, by Mark Dorosin , Managing Attorney, and Elizabeth Haddix , Senior Staff Attorney, for North Carolina Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, amicus curiae.

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., Charlotte, by Richard A. Vinroot and Matthew F. Tilley , for Pacific Legal Foundation, amicus curiae.


When assessing a challenge to the constitutionality of legislation, this Court's duty is to determine whether the General Assembly has complied with the constitution. If constitutional requirements are met, the wisdom of the legislation is a question for the General Assembly. E.g., In re Hous. Bonds, 307 N.C. 52, 57...

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