Judge blocks North Carolina law that bans lying in political ads

The Associated Press revealed that a federal judge ruled to block the enforcement of a state law that involves a political ad from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

The law North Carolina passed makes it illegal to knowingly publish or promote false information about a candidate intending to hurt them. That led to an investigation into Stein about rape kits being ignored.

"Following a court hearing in Greensboro, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled for Stein’s campaign and other plaintiffs who filed an unusual lawsuit last week against State Board of Elections members and Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman," said the AP. "The temporary restraining order that Eagles signed means that Freeman’s office is prevented from using that law to prosecute anyone associated with a 2020 commercial that the Democratic incumbent aired against then-Republican challenger Jim O’Neill."

O'Neill filed a complaint at the election board in Sept. 2020 about the ad. The complaint, which cited the law, led to an investigation from SBI and board investigators, who spoke with staff on the campaign and the candidate.

"The plaintiffs called the law overbroad and outdated and said it fails to protect core political speech, leading it to violate the First Amendment," said the AP report.

Eagles wrote in the order that she was approving a temporary order because Stein (and others) would be subject to potential criminal prosecution without a hearing over what she called an overly broad criminal libel statute.

The judge called them back on Aug. 4 for reasons why the order should be extended.

Before the law’s constitutionality can be litigated, “the balance of the equities favors an injunction protecting the First Amendment right of the plaintiffs and other political candidates to free speech,” Eagles wrote.

The lawyers representing the state board and the Wake County DA said that there's a conflict of interest because Stein, as the attorney general will be defending the state law.

Read the full report.