Paul, Weiss and Co-counsel Successfully Defend Preliminary Injunction of North Carolina Voter ID Law

In a key voting rights victory, Paul, Weiss and co-counsel the Southern Coalition for Social Justice defeated efforts to dissolve the preliminary injunction blocking North Carolina’s 2018 voter ID law in advance of the general election.

The complaint, filed on behalf of five voters in the state, alleges that the voter ID law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the North Carolina Constitution because it intentionally discriminates against Black voters. In February, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that plaintiffs have “shown a clear likelihood of success on the merits” of their intentional discrimination claim, and ordered the trial court to enjoin the law until a trial is concluded. In July, the legislative defendants moved to dissolve that preliminary injunction, arguing that the enactment of subsequent legislation undermined the Court of Appeals’ conclusion. The three-judge panel unanimously denied that motion, holding that the preliminary injunction will “remain unaltered and in effect.”

The Paul, Weiss team, which is led by litigation associates Paul Brachman and Jessica Morton, and supervised by litigation partners Andrew Ehrlich and Jane O’Brien, includes litigation associates Ethan Merel, Benjamin Symons, Apeksha Vora, Amitav Chakraborty, Ryan Rizzuto and Taylor Williams.