NC lawmakers challenge federal judge’s order blocking their light rail file access
North Carolina lawmakers have called a federal judge’s order locking them out of the ongoing criminal investigative file on the August Charlotte light rail stabbing unconstitutional.
Republican co-chairs of the state House Oversight Committee — Rep. Jake Johnson, Rep. Brenden Jones and Rep. Harry Warren — sent letters in December demanding a range of documents and data relating to Charlotte public safety, including “all documents, reports, memos, other written materials” related to the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
DeCarlos Brown Jr., the man charged in Zarutska’s death, faces a state murder charge and federal 9/11-era terrorism charge of causing a death on mass transportation.
State law requires Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather to give the legislators the information they requested, even if it is related to an active investigation. Federal officials are not bound to those same laws.
So — responding to motions from Brown’s defense lawyers and U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson — a federal judge last week blocked members of the General Assembly from accessing or sharing the file.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler said “release of the materials may prejudice [Brown’s] constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial” and issued a preliminary protective order that bars Merriweather and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department from releasing the files.
As a safeguard, Keesler ordered: If the files have already been sent, the General Assembly is not permitted to release them.
Attorney Michael Dowling filed a motion Tuesday on behalf of the oversight committee chairs.
“The House Oversight Co-Chairs respect the authority of this Court and recognize the importance of the Court’s governance of this criminal proceeding,” they wrote. “However, the House Oversight Co-Chairs hold concerns regarding the chilling effect that this Court’s order may have on the Committee’s discharge of its duties, as well as the legal authority and constitutionality of the Preliminary Protective Order.”
The trio said they intend to abide by the order, and they postponed a hearing on the case while awaiting guidance on how much lawmakers can discuss publicly.
They said they still plan to disclose and discuss facts of Zarutska’s stabbing “that are already in the public domain” or that come from sources other than the criminal investigative file.
