Still no Ruling One Year After Latest Step in Longstanding Cooper Complaint | Eastern North Carolina Now

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

    One year after presenting his latest arguments in court, a Raleigh attorney still has no idea how the N.C. Court of Appeals will rule on a complaint related to Gov. Roy Cooper.

    Attorney Gene Boyce argued on Feb. 7, 2017, that a three-judge Appeals Court panel should overturn a trial court judge's decision throwing out Boyce's lawsuit against the N.C. State Bar. Boyce contends that the State Bar mishandled his complaint about Cooper's actions during the 2000 campaign for N.C. attorney general.

    Exactly one year later, the three-judge panel has yet to issue its opinion in the case.

    The State Bar is the agency that regulates attorneys in North Carolina. Boyce contends the agency should have taken action against Cooper in connection with a controversy that led to a 14-year legal battle between Boyce and Cooper in civil court. The battle stemmed from comments Cooper's campaign made in advertisements aimed against Boyce's son Dan. The Democrat Cooper beat Republican Dan Boyce in the 2000 attorney general's race.

    Cooper won three more statewide campaigns for attorney general before unseating incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016.

    Cooper and Boyce settled their civil suit in 2014 when Cooper issued Boyce a written apology. Boyce contends the complaint involving the State Bar involves a separate issue.

    Boyce wants the Appeals Court to force the State Bar to acknowledge his claims of Cooper's misconduct; declare that the State Bar has a conflict of interest in the matter, because Cooper served as lead attorney for the State Bar; and refer the dispute to an alternative agency for investigation, findings of fact, and discipline if appropriate.

    Carolina Journal covered the issue in greater detail one year ago.