N.C. Supreme Court Rejects UNC Academic Fraud Case | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post was created by the staff for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    A day after UNC-Chapel Hill wrapped up its meeting with the NCAA's infractions committee, North Carolina's highest court has delivered the university a victory in a separate - but related - case.

    The N.C. Supreme Court has denied a petition from former student-athletes James Arnold and Leah Metcalf. The plaintiffs wanted the Supreme Court to hear their argument that UNC-CH had committed academic fraud hurting them and other student-athletes.

    Both a Mecklenburg County trial judge and a unanimous N.C. Court of Appeals panel already had rejected the suit. The state Supreme Court offered no comment. Court paperwork indicated that justices denied the plaintiffs' petition to take up the case. Since the Appeals Court decision had been unanimous, the Supreme Court would have needed to grant "discretionary review" to consider Arnold and Metcalf's arguments.

    Arnold played for the Tar Heel football team. Metcalf played women's basketball. Their suit argued that the "paper class" scandal that has enveloped the Chapel Hill campus in a long-running scandal constituted academic fraud. They contend that fraud hurt their long-term career prospects. Courts have rejected the argument.