El-Khouri, et al. v. State, et al.

CATHERINE M. EL-KHOURI, LAURA E. OBERBAUER, and W. ANTHONY PURCELL, Plaintiffs v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BAR; L. THOMAS LUNSFORD, II, in his official capacity as Secretary/Treasurer of the north Carolina State Bar; THE NORTH CAROLINA BAR ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE; MARGARET M. HUNT, in her official capacity as Chairperson of the North Carolina Bar Administrative Committee; DAVID YATES BINGHAM, in his official capacity as Vice-Chairperson of the North Carolina Bar Administrative Committee; and RONALD G. BAKER, SR., GILBERT W. CHICHESTER, WILLIAM M. CLAYOR, FORREST A. FERRELL, JOHN E. GEHRING, DOUGLAS R. GILL, SIDNEY J. HASSELL, JR., ISSAC HEARD, JR., PATRICIA HOLLAND, DAVID T. PHILLIPS, FRED D. POISSON, JR., DONALD C. PRENTISS, and JAN H. SAMET, in their official capacities as members of the North Carolina Bar Administrative Committee, Defendants.

Case Status

Current Status: Pending
Date Filed: Oct 10th, 2007
Last Action: Jul 10th, 2009
Court Filed In: State (Wake County)

Case Summary

The lawsuit, filed in Wake County Superior Court on behalf of three Charlotte area attorneys, challenges a statute which requires all attorneys in the state to pay $50 to a state fund to finance the campaigns of participating candidates for judgeships of the supreme court and state court of appeals. The lawsuit alleges that the forced contribution is an unconstitutional tax and a violation of the separation of powers mandate of the State Constitution. The lawsuit also alleges that the forced contribution violates free speech guarantees of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of the North Carolina Constitution because it forces the plaintiffs and other attorneys to support the political campaigns of judicial candidates with whom they may strenuously disagree.

Documents Filed

Document Title Date Filed Court Download
Order 07/10/2009 PDF 
El Khouri Answer 09/18/2008 NC Supreme Court PDF 7.8MB
Motion to Dismiss Denied 08/28/2008 State (Wake Co.) PDF 
Defendants' Motion to Dismiss 11/13/2007 State (Wake County) PDF 977KB
Complaint 10/10/2007 State (Wake County) PDF 5.9MB
Plaintiff's Motion in Opposition 10/10/2007 State (Wake County) PDF 95KB