It was a big news week, but I’ll start with the General Assembly. First off, it passed a law, S.L. 2015-31, that requires motor vehicles to have at least one “stop lamp,” or brake light, on each side of the rear of the vehicle. It thus effectively overruled State v. Heien, 214 N.C. App. 515 (2011), which held that G.S. 20-129(g) only requires one stop lamp. In other news: Governor to veto magistrate marriage bill. Senate Bill 2 would allow magistrates to opt out of performing marriages altogether based on a “sincerely held religious objection,” presumably to marrying same-sex couples. Both chambers of the General Assembly have passed the bill, but Governor McCrory recently announced that he will veto it, because “we are a nation and a state of laws” and “no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath.” The General Assembly may have the votes to override the veto but it is not yet clear whether it will attempt to do so. New graffiti law? WRAL just ran this story about H552, a bill that would create a new Class 1 misdemeanor of “graffiti vandalism.” The offense would be a felony for certain recidivists. The bill is almost through the legislature and appears likely to pass. Soccer indictments hit close to home. The infamously corrupt world of international soccer is quaking in its collective soccer shoes after the United States Department [...]
Faculty Coordinators
