Cherry v. Underwood et al

On September 12, 2018, James R. Cherry Jr. and other North Carolina voters and judicial candidates sued state election officials led by Mark Underwood. They challenged Session Law 2018-144, which canceled judicial primary elections and converted judicial races from nonpartisan to partisan contests. Plaintiffs contended that the sudden change violated their First Amendment rights of free speech and association, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment right to vote, by forcing candidates to adopt party labels and eliminating primary choices. Judge Catherine C. Eagles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a preliminary injunction, ordering that the 2018 elections proceed under the prior nonpartisan primary system, finding that the law likely imposed an unconstitutional burden.

Preliminary injunction granted; the court ordered that the 2018 judicial elections be held under the pre-existing nonpartisan primary system, preserving the status quo pending trial.

Whether North Carolina's Session Law 2018-144, by abruptly eliminating judicial primaries and imposing partisan elections, unconstitutionally burdened the plaintiffs' First Amendment freedoms of speech and association and their Fourteenth Amendment right to vote, absent a compelling state interest.

The ruling prevented a last-minute switch to partisan judicial elections, ensuring voters retained a nonpartisan primary in 2018. It affirmed that procedural changes in electoral law are subject to close constitutional scrutiny and sparked ongoing debate over judicial independence and the role of party politics in the judiciary.