n attorney representing the Republican candidate in a tight race for the North Carolina Supreme Court went before a Wake County judge this week without notifying opposing counsel to seek an order blocking certification of the election. In some instances, under state and federal rules of procedure, such ex parte motions are improper.
The ex parte motion took place on Tuesday before Judge Cynthia Sturges, in a Wake County courtroom. Sturges, a registered Republican, at first granted the motion, which was filed by Craig Schauer, who represents Jefferson Griffin. Griffin, a North Carolina Court of Appeals judge, is the GOP candidate seeking to unseat Democrat Allison Riggs from her associate justice post on the state Supreme Court.
After initially granting the ex parte motion, Judge Sturges later withdrew it because “the Court became concerned that neither the Respondent nor Respondent’s attorneys received appropriate notice of the Motion, as required by Local Rules and Rule 65 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.”
Schauer did not immediately respond to WUNC’s request for comment on his ex parte motion.
Under North Carolina’s rules of civil procedure, which align with federal rules, a court may grant a temporary restraining order without prior or written notice to the adverse party only if the applicant shows they will suffer immediate and irreparable injury before opposing counsel can be heard on the matter, and that the applicant’s attorney has certified in writing “the efforts, if any, that have been made to give the notice and the reasons supporting the claim that notice should not be required.”