Court Temporarily Allows Ban On Partisan Judicial Elections To Stand

Certain North Carolina judicial primaries may not happen this spring.

The news comes after a federal court blocked a lower court ruling Friday that would have allowed them to take place. It's a win for Republican legislators trying to reshape judicial elections in North Carolina.

A panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals halted a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles.

She had decided that partisan primaries must go ahead this year for the state Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court. That's despite a state law last October canceling them.

But attorneys for Republican lawmakers said it would have created a two-tiered judicial elections system that would confuse voters.

Barring further action, filing for the state's appeals court seats will now begin in June.