An anti-lottery legal foundation wants a judge to prevent the North Carolina Education Lottery from doing any work while a lawsuit challenging the lottery's passage in the Legislature is heard.
In a filing late Friday in Wake County Superior Court, Robert Orr with the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law filed a motion asking a judge to order the lottery commission to stop operating for now.
The proposed preliminary injunction also would keep state officials from loaning the commission up to $10 million for startup costs and bar the commission from entering into vendor or retailer contracts.
Two weeks ago, Orr sued of several groups and two legislators, arguing the 61-59 state House vote approving the lottery was invalid because the bill wasn't considered on three separate days, as required by the state constitution.
Allowing the lottery work to continue would cause "immediate and irreparable injury" to his clients and other citizens and taxpayers because the lottery law is a "constitutionally infirm statute," Orr wrote.
Gov. Mike Easley and House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, argue the vote was legal because lottery profits don't meet the legal definition of revenue. Bills that would generate higher sales and income taxes require three days of consideration.
A preliminary injunction could hamper efforts to get the first scratch-off tickets sold by early April and the multistate Powerball numbers game underway in early July. The lottery commission is accepting bids for two major vending contracts.
A spokesman with the Attorney General's Office, which is representing the state, lottery officials, Easley and State Treasurer Richard Moore in the lawsuit, had not seen the motion late Friday and declined to comment. A date for a hearing on the motion wasn't immediately known.
The lawsuit ultimately asks that state courts void the lottery law and cancel all lottery contracts for games scheduled to start by April. A new lottery bill could be reconsidered in the Legislature should the lawsuit succeed.
I don't understand....how can these people fight what the people want? These are just a group of people in a minority that are either religious nuts or have nothing else to do with their time. The people of North Carolina want a lottery so give it to them. If this doesn't pass they can just propose a ballot measure for November and the people will vote it in that way. Either way NC will have a working lottery this year.
They are going to fight the lottery tooth and nail.
You are not going to see a lottery in N.C.
You couldn't be more wrong.NC will have a lottery once these idiot conservative self-rightous holier than thou rabble-rousers are shown the door.These are the same people who have used every trick in the book to prevent the lottery for the last 20 years.They have finally lost,yet they don't care about the will of the people at all.They only want their own way.Too late for them.This is their last volley before the games being and they know it.Orr is trying to hand pick a friendly judge to change the law from the bench.It's a desparate attempt to turn back the clock.Time has passed him by.
It doesn't matter what the people want - only what the chosen protectors want. It happns whether it is a goup of four or a group of a thousand. They know how people should act, what they should do, and how it should be said. They always know what is right for you, and will damn you if you go against them.
I don't understand....how can these people fight what the people want? These are just a group of people in a minority that are either religious nuts or have nothing else to do with their time. The people of North Carolina want a lottery so give it to them. If this doesn't pass they can just propose a ballot measure for November and the people will vote it in that way. Either way NC will have a working lottery this year.
Brad
It will never make it to a vote by the general public. We are not 'qualified' to make decisions like that.
Tell these Legal Foundations,as they call themselves to go straight to????? and stop meddling,all of them are like the ACLU, fools in my opinion,always using tax payers money,in court battles to cause trouble,Robert Orr really speaks for no one I am sure,not for the people of North Carolina,the schools need the revenue from the lottery,like all of the other states that have the lottery.
P.S The people will win in the end,these want to be dictators will be put back in there little corner and fade into obscurity, where they belong.
They are going to fight the lottery tooth and nail.
You are not going to see a lottery in N.C.
We want it so ... Let us have it !!!
I don't understand....how can these people fight what the people want? These are just a group of people in a minority that are either religious nuts or have nothing else to do with their time. The people of North Carolina want a lottery so give it to them. If this doesn't pass they can just propose a ballot measure for November and the people will vote it in that way. Either way NC will have a working lottery this year.
Brad
They are going to fight the lottery tooth and nail.
You are not going to see a lottery in N.C.
You couldn't be more wrong.NC will have a lottery once these idiot conservative self-rightous holier than thou rabble-rousers are shown the door.These are the same people who have used every trick in the book to prevent the lottery for the last 20 years.They have finally lost,yet they don't care about the will of the people at all.They only want their own way.Too late for them.This is their last volley before the games being and they know it.Orr is trying to hand pick a friendly judge to change the law from the bench.It's a desparate attempt to turn back the clock.Time has passed him by.
It doesn't matter what the people want - only what the chosen protectors want. It happns whether it is a goup of four or a group of a thousand. They know how people should act, what they should do, and how it should be said. They always know what is right for you, and will damn you if you go against them.
I don't understand....how can these people fight what the people want? These are just a group of people in a minority that are either religious nuts or have nothing else to do with their time. The people of North Carolina want a lottery so give it to them. If this doesn't pass they can just propose a ballot measure for November and the people will vote it in that way. Either way NC will have a working lottery this year.
Brad
It will never make it to a vote by the general public. We are not 'qualified' to make decisions like that.
They are going to fight the lottery tooth and nail.
You are not going to see a lottery in N.C.
It will suprise me if we EVER have a lottery in NC. If there were LESS people wanting a lottery, we would have been the first state to have one.
----------------------------SDRAWKCAB ERA EW---------------------------
Without NC, Powerball's rollovers will be pathetic forever.
Tell these Legal Foundations,as they call themselves to go straight to????? and stop meddling,all of them are like the ACLU, fools in my opinion,always using tax payers money,in court battles to cause trouble,Robert Orr really speaks for no one I am sure,not for the people of North Carolina,the schools need the revenue from the lottery,like all of the other states that have the lottery.
P.S The people will win in the end,these want to be dictators will be put back in there little corner and fade into obscurity, where they belong.
I am suprised they have not made it against the law to take a dump in NC.
I am suprised they have not made it against the law to take a dump in NC.
Any word on wether the judge has made a decision yet?
I am suprised they have not made it against the law to take a dump in NC.
They will.
Or they will charge a fee in public restrooms.
Any word on wether the judge has made a decision yet?
I don't think they have even scheduled the date for the hearing yet.