North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Alleging ‘Implicit Bias’ in Colleagues Faces Investigation

A federal judge has rejected North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls’ request for a preliminary injunction to block an investigation into her allegations that the state’s court lacks diversity. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge William Osteen denied the request that Earls said would have prohibited the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission (JSC) from violating her free speech.  In his ruling, Judge Osteen said Justice Earls “failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits.” Justice Earls filed her lawsuit in August alleging that the JSC’s investigation “unconstitutionally infringes on upon her First Amendment rights,” and that her “speech has been chilled in several instances when she declined opportunities to speak on topics of diversity and equity since the Commission’s investigation commenced.”...