NCICL

And will the squarepants still fit?

Former N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Bob Orr is stepping down as executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, according to an announcement on the nonprofit organization's website. Orr, who had been the group's founding director and ran the organization for seven years, will return to private practice.

I was going to say, "I'm glad to see him pursuing an honest living", but then I remembered he was a lawyer, so... :)

Bob Orr withdraws offer to establish a Pope Foundation center at the NCCU School of Law in the wake of concerns over Art Pope's radical agenda. Here's the N&O version of the story.

Indy Week has a slightly different take, in which a Republican student at NCCU Law misses the point entirely.

"What bothers me is the message the firestorm has created, that if you're tied to a Republican, don’t come to Central," Doucette said. "But that's not what we're about."

Art Pope isn't "a Republican," Mr. Doucette. He is a one-man army engaged in class warfare. He is supporting legislative assaults on the very Constitution his Center proposed to study. His friends in the General Assembly are dismantling public education through draconian budget cuts. His scorched-earth approach to political reform will set North Carolina back for generations.

News of the Great Law School Giveaway has been trickling out for more than a month now, with word today that the NCCU Law faculty will be considering Art Pope's low-ball offer sometime soon.

A faculty committee at the North Carolina Central University School of Law is expected to recommend within the next few weeks whether the school should establish a constitutional law center partially funded by a Republican activist ...

• You'll need to block out a lot of time to read it all.

Among the right's more colorful characters, former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr stands distinguished, both in terms of intellect and good humor. After a career on the court, and a quixotic run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, today he heads one of the smaller fiefdoms in Art Pope's Holy Empire, focusing his energies on matters of constitutional law in North Carolina. Said another way, he spends most of his time suing Democrats. And it seems he's looking for more opportunities.

At this very moment, our pal Justice Bob Orr is announcing his representation of Superintendent June Atkinson in a lawsuit against Governor Perdue to determine who will actually control North Carolina's education system:

When: April 3, 2009 at 11:00 am

Where: 333 E. Six Forks Road • Suite 180 • Raleigh, North Carolina

Purpose: Media briefing by Justice Robert F. Orr (retired) concerning litigation that will be filed Friday, April 3, 2009, by Dr. June St. Clair Atkinson to challenge the constitutionality of certain legislative and executive branch actions taken to usurp the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s constitutional authority to administer the North Carolina public school system.