Jeffrey C. Billman

Durham

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Politics and Law Reporter at The Assembly

Politics + Law Reporter @theassemblync | Send me tips: [email protected]

Articles

Jefferson Griffin Lost. The Reputation of State Courts Might Be the Biggest Loser.

3 weeks ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

After six months of high-stakes legal drama, Jefferson Griffin’s concession last Wednesday seemed anticlimactic. By that point, he had few cards left to play.
Balanced Nutrition Must Repay State $101,000

1 month ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

The nonprofit owned by Yolanda Hill, the wife of former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, has until Saturday to repay the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services $101,142 following a year-long dispute that dogged Robinson’s failed campaign for governor. Last year, the DHHS sought to recoup more than $100,000 from Balanced Nutrition, which it accused of violating federal regulations and failing to keep records. On March 24, an administrative law judge sided with the agency.
Elections Officials Narrow Jefferson Griffin’s Path to Victory

1 month ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

Days after Republicans on the state Supreme Court created a path for Jefferson Griffin to overturn his 2024 loss to incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs, the Democratic-controlled State Board of Elections significantly narrowed it.
N.C. Supreme Court (Sort of) Rules for Allison Riggs

1 month ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

After months of legal wrangling, Republican justices were not willing to disenfranchise 67,000 voters to help Jefferson Griffin overturn his loss in last year’s North Carolina Supreme Court election. Instead, on Friday afternoon, four justices ruled that at least 267 votes should be thrown out and put about 5,000 more on thin ice. Two justices—Republican Richard Dietz and Democrat Anita Earls—partially dissented. The incumbent who defeated Griffin, Democrat Allison Riggs, recused herself.
He Was In N.C. Legally. Why Was He Deported?

1 month ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman |Ren Larson

The Zambrano family had no reason to suspect that anything would go wrong when they arrived at the Charlotte Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on January 29. As asylum seekers from Venezuela who’d entered the U.S. in November 2023, their check-in was routine, an annual ritual. They were in the country legally, awaiting immigration court dates that were still likely years off.
Griffin Takes His Case to His Court of Appeals Colleagues

2 months ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

On Friday, three N.C. Court of Appeals judges heard Jefferson Griffin’s case for why they should discard 65,000 votes from last year’s state Supreme Court election—the only 2024 race in the country not yet certified. By now, Griffin’s arguments in the long-running dispute are familiar. When the votes were counted, Griffin, a Republican Court of Appeals judge, was 734 votes behind Democrat Allison Riggs. But if the courts invalidate the votes Griffin says were illegally cast, he believes he’ll win.
Who is NC Senate Democrats' New Leader? Meet Sydney Batch.

2 months ago | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

By the time state Sen. Dan Blue realized he was being challenged, he was already in trouble. An icon among North Carolina Democrats, the 75-year-old Blue had spent more than four decades in the General Assembly. In the 1990s, he’d become the state’s first (and still only) Black House Speaker. After being appointed to the state Senate in 2009, Blue was elected caucus leader in 2014.
Wake Judge Dismisses Jefferson Griffin’s Election Challenge

Feb 7, 2025 | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

Wake County Special Superior Court Judge William Pittman rejected Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to overturn his 734-vote loss to Justice Allison Riggs in last year’s state Supreme Court race on Friday, ruling that the State Board of Elections had not erred when it dismissed his challenge in December. The decision followed arguments earlier in the day. Griffin, who declined to comment after the hearing, is certain to appeal.
Mark Robinson Drops Lawsuit Against CNN

Jan 31, 2025 | theassemblync.com | Jeffrey C. Billman

Mark Robinson’s defamation case against CNN and former Greensboro porn shop clerk Louis Money appears to have ended with a whimper on Friday. The former lieutenant governor conceded in a press release that “continuing to pursue retribution from CNN is a futile effort,” and his attorneys dismissed the lawsuit he’d filed in October. Robinson filed suit after articles in The Assembly and CNN derailed his campaign for governor.
The Docket: No End in Sight

Jan 28, 2025 | theassemblync.com | Michael Hewlett |Jeffrey C. Billman |Anne Blythe

A three-judge panel for the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seemed likely to keep Jefferson Griffin’s legal challenge in state court—perhaps, in part, because the state Supreme Court tied their hands. Three months after Election Day, Griffin, a Republican Court of Appeals judge, has not conceded his apparent 734-vote loss to Democratic Justice Allison Riggs.