William Plyler | August 1, 2010
(Robert McMillan, senior partner with McMillan Smith & Plyler, has practiced law in Raleigh, N.C. for over 50 years. He graciously has allowed me to publish some of his favorite law stories, one of which appears below.)
This anecdote involves the story told about the time that N.F. Ransdell, uncle of Buck and Phillip Ransdell, and [...]
William Plyler | May 8, 2010
This is the video of the Portrait Dedication Ceremony at the U. S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 2, 2009. The transcript of the ceremony may be read at the previous post. This video captures and preserves some of the most heart-felt and compelling tributes ever delivered. PRESS PLAY BUTTON BELOW [...]
William Plyler | May 2, 2010
The Portrait Dedication Ceremony in honor of The Honorable Karen Johnson Williams, Retired Chief Judge of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, took place on December 2, 2009 at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond. I reported on the ceremony in a December 3, 2009 post on this website which can [...]
William Plyler | April 18, 2010
Newly-elected Judge William I. Belk took a howitzer to the gut on his first day of judges’ school, when he learned about Canon 5 C. (2) of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. This Canon prohibits a judge from serving as an officer, director, or manager of any business.
Judge Belk, fresh off a [...]
William Plyler | April 18, 2010
Newly-elected Judge William I. Belk took a howitzer to the gut on his first day of judges’ school, when he learned about Canon 5 C. (2) of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. This Canon prohibits a judge from serving as an officer, director, or manager of any business.
Judge Belk, fresh off a [...]
William Plyler | March 10, 2010
Robert McMillan, senior partner with McMillan Smith & Plyler, allowed me to publish his tribute to North Carolina Supreme Court Justice John Webb. Mr. McMillan presented the tribute on 6/19/09 at a memorial service in Wake County Superior Court which honored Justice Webb and other Wake County attorneys who passed away in the preceeding year. The tribute is published in its [...]
William Plyler | March 10, 2010
Robert McMillan, senior partner with McMillan Smith & Plyler, allowed me to publish his tribute to North Carolina Supreme Court Justice John Webb. Mr. McMillan presented the tribute on 6/19/09 at a memorial service in Wake County Superior Court which honored Justice Webb and other Wake County attorneys who passed away in the preceeding year. The tribute is published in its [...]
William Plyler | December 3, 2009
Portrait of The Honorable Karen J. Williams
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals met en banc at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia on December 2, 2009 for a Portrait Dedication Ceremony in honor of The Honorable Karen Johnson Williams, Retired U.S. Circuit Judge. Judge Williams was the first woman to sit [...]
William Plyler | September 21, 2009
Judges should interpret (rather than make) the law and should not legislate from the bench. On the other hand, judges should invalidate legislation which conflicts with the Constitution. Politicians of all stripes profess to agree upon these high-minded, competing principles.
Which of these principles is emphasized by a politician in a particular situation depends [...]
William Plyler | August 30, 2009
The North Carolina Supreme Court, in Blankenship v. Bartlett (No. 455 PA06-2, filed August 28, 2009), a 4-3 decision reversing a unanimous decision by the N.C. Court of Appeals, held that the Equal Protection Clause of Article I, Section 19 of the N.C. Constitution requires a degree of proportionality in districts drawn for the election of [...]