I've was force to submit a Writ of Mandamus today to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals asking them to force the lower court to order the release of the names. I will let you know what they decide. 

Besides that I've also contacted Josh Stein twice, and the Attorney General 3 times now. I sent this to the state attorney defending the misconduct of the clerk: 

Dear Kristin,

I am attaching a courtesy copy of my Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Motion for Expedited Relief, which I am mailing to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today. I have confirmed you are registered with the Court’s CM/ECF system, so you will also receive it once it is filed and docketed.

Out of courtesy, I want to address other concerns I have about this case. I am also copying Attorney General Jeff Jackson on this message. I have previously reached out to him regarding this matter and requested an investigation into the NC Court of Appeals. Ultimately, it is the AG Office’s responsibility to protect the civil rights of the public and enforce the public records law in the state.  

I want to be candid that my prior experiences with AGO in related matters have not been positive. However, I ask that you evaluate me as an individual litigant on the merits of my filings and arguments, not based on personal assumptions or about pro se litigants and I will do the same for you.

Extensions of Time
I am aware that under the Local Rules, extensions of time are sought with the consent of opposing parties. On two occasions now, extensions have been granted, even though I was not contacted beforehand. I have already raised this with the Clerk and asked that I be given notice and a chance to object before future extensions are granted.

I respect the fact that attorneys often have heavy caseloads and that unexpected circumstances can arise. You are correct that I would have objected, but that is my right to assert—not yours to assume on my behalf.  I am not objecting for the sake of difficulty. I am objecting because taxpayer resources fund this defense, and I believe repeated extensions without cause waste those resources especially if it is done based in procedural gamesmanship rather than litigation on the merits.

That said, I will assume that your prior extension requests were made in good faith and with the intent to file a substantive answer rather than another Rule 12(b) motion that only delays matters further. I have no desire to waste your time, and I ask that you not waste mine.

Please know, I would not oppose an extension for good cause, such as family emergencies or legitimate scheduling conflicts. However, I would ask that requests for additional time be made transparently, with prior contact.

Representation of Clerk Soar
I am considering filing a motion to disqualify your office from representing Clerk Soar and possibly ALJ Turrentine. My concern is that the AG office, as the state’s chief civil rights enforcement agency, has a conflict of interest in defending an official whose actions are the basis of my civil rights and public access claims.

I recognize that state law authorizes the AG to represent state officials, but that representation is generally limited to official-capacity suits. Here, I have brought claims in both official and individual capacities. I don’t believe the judges should be defended either, but I am not seeking personal damages or have evidence of criminal misconduct at this point. Should discovery lead to that; I will request the same for them.

However, my biggest concern is of Clerk Soar. If my understanding is correct, and Clerk Soar’s conduct amounts to impersonating a judicial officer in collusion with a private attorney, that would fall squarely within the investigative responsibility of your division.

I do not make this allegation lightly. If you have fully reviewed my complaint and the latest evidence I have submitted, it goes beyond circumstantial.

I am aware that motions to disqualify counsel are rarely granted, and that courts are generally reluctant to interfere with a party’s representation. But those cases typically involve only ambiguous or borderline conflicts. By contrast, this case is not ambiguous, the AG Office is not permitted to defend criminal misconduct of a state official in federal court, only state appellate court.

With that being said, before I file this motion, I wanted to provide the AG office the opportunity to avoid wasting further resources. I would like to understand the office’s legal basis for representing Clerk Soar in this matter and that it is in good faith.

To be clear, I am not asking you for legal advice or seeking guidance on how I should litigate this case. I refer you to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(2), which authorizes the Attorney General “to represent all State departments, agencies, institutions, commissions, bureaus or other organized activities of the State which receive support in whole or in part from the State … in conformance with Rule 1.2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar.”

Rule 1.2(d) provides that “a lawyer shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent.” Defending Clerk Soar’s conduct in concealing judges’ names is assisting fraud, because there is no legal authority permitting him to do so. Furthermore, Attorney Curran O’Brien did exactly that when she submitted false evidence in her Rule 12(b) motion. The substitution of counsel does not absolve that misconduct. The AGO remains responsible for filings made on its behalf, and a change in personnel does not cure the ethical concerns raised by those filings.

Please understand that I am not seeking to be combative or difficult. My goal is to protect the public’s right to access justice and to ensure confidence in the judicial system. I do not believe that individuals who restrict access to the judiciary or interfere with the administration of justice should receive taxpayer-funded defense without clear legal authority.

If you decline and prefer that I proceed with filing the motion, I understand. I simply want to ensure that this is a clear representation of the AG’s Office, and not just your individual decision, which is why I have cc’d Attorney General Jackson.

If that is the case, I will also assume that the AGO is declining to conduct the investigation I previously requested, as I have not received a direct response from him.

Thank you,

Her response?

Received. 

That is deeply concerning considering this attorney is part of the criminal division—the one that would be conducting the investigation, which is where our taxes should go instead they paying for people in power to break the law without accountability.