Earls dissents as NC Supreme Court ends Leandro case NC Supreme Court dismisses Leandro case; Earls issues sharp dissent
Durham, NC – Today, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a ruling dismissing the Leandro school funding case, ending any possibility of relief for the plaintiffs.
Senior Associate Justice Anita Earls dissented, citing the Court’s responsibility to uphold the constitutional right to a sound basic education and serve as a check on the legislature as a coequal branch of government.
“This case is—and has always been—about the nature of the constitutional right recognized three decades ago in Leandro v. State: that the State has a duty to guard and maintain the right of every North Carolina schoolchild to access a sound basic education…The Court today betrays these constitutional commitments.”
“The current Court appears unable or unwilling to meaningfully check constitutional rights violations—particularly those originating from the legislature. That failure threatens constitutional rights of all stripes, foundational rule of law principles, and our system of government. It reflects poorly on our Court as a coequal branch of government entrusted with the solemn responsibility of safeguarding fundamental constitutional rights.”
“Allowing the State to escape judicial scrutiny for constitutional rights violations through its behavior during litigation quickly turns constitutional rights into words on paper—morally compelling but functionally useless.”
“One result of today’s decision of which we can be certain is the sad stain this Court leaves on its own reputation and the self-inflicted injury it deals to the Court’s standing as a coequal branch of North Carolina’s government. It is difficult to estimate the damage this Court has done to its own legitimacy by trying to rewrite a fundamental constitutional guarantee because it no longer comports with the Justices’ individual political preferences—and denying any relief to injured parties who proved in a court of law that the State violated their fundamental education rights.”
The full opinion can be read online here.
Justice Anita Earls is the Senior Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Prior to taking office in 2019, she spent over 30 years as a civil rights attorney, specializing in voting rights, school desegregation, and employment discrimination matters. Throughout her career, she has championed government transparency, held large corporations accountable, fought for fair elections, and advocated for those who have been harmed. She lives in Durham with her husband, and she has two sons and three grandchildren.
