Three-Judge Panel Sides with State Legislature Over Gov. Stein In Dispute Over State Highway Patrol Governance

A three-judge panel sided with the General Assembly against Governor Josh Stein in a lawsuit over legislation reassigning control of the State Highway Patrol. The panel, comprising two Republicans and one Democrat, granted the Defendants' motion for summary judgment, thereby ending the case before it went to trial.

The motion said, “Plaintiff (Stein) has failed to demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the General Assembly’s act is unconstitutional. Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all of Plaintiff’s claims, and Plaintiff is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law on any of Plaintiff’s claims.”

Last December, the General Assembly overrode then-Governor Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 382, which elevated the Highway Patrol to a cabinet-level position and required Stein to appoint the current Highway Patrol Commander, Freddy Johnson, to a five-year term.

Stein accepted the reorganization but argued that the legislation stripped him of his constitutional power to appoint a commander of his choosing. Lawyers for legislative leaders argued that the case was moot because Stein did not actually want to remove Johnson, so the dispute was only theoretical and pointed to the State Bureau of Investigations as an example of how independent agencies operate.

Tim’s Take: The Republican General Assembly’s reorganization of the Executive Branch continues to survive judicial scrutiny. During 2024, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a series of laws to reorganize various aspects of the Executive Branch. So far, these have been upheld, the most prominent example is the Auditor’s appointment power to the State Board of Elections.