I wrote to Governor Josh Stein demanding to know whether he was aware that clerks at the North Carolina Court of Appeals are issuing orders—including dismissals—under the false pretense of a three-judge panel. This isn’t speculation; legislative staffers admitted to me on July 17 that attorneys and lawmakers know this is happening, yet it’s being excused as “internal policy.”
My own review of appellate records from 2023–2025 shows a clear and troubling shift:
- in 2023, 30% of dismissals favored the opposing party, with 50% targeting pro se litigants—only 7% named the judge.
- In 2024, 40% of dismissals favored the opposing party, 56% involved pro se litigants, and just one case named a judge.
- After the 2024 election, every dismissal used identical “by order of the Court, sitting as a three-judge panel” language without naming a single judge,
- and in 2025, that number hit 100%. This practice strips litigants—especially pro se parties—of transparency and meaningful review.
I told the Governor that if he didn’t know before, he does now, and asked if he would call for an investigation. I reminded him that his office failed me once as Attorney General when it refused to investigate my landlord’s statutory violations. This is about more than my case—it’s about whether North Carolina’s institutions protect the rule of law or enable its quiet erosion.