Leaves in place

Supreme Court leaves in place a ruling that struck down N.C.'s voter ID law

By JOSH GERSTEIN

The Supreme Court is leaving in place a ruling that struck down North Carolina's voter identification law as unconstitutional because it was intended to suppress the votes of African Americans.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued an unusual statement Monday saying the high court's decision not to wade into the case should not be taken as an indication of the justices' views on the broader issues at stake. He suggested the high court's decision not to wade into the case was because of the confusion over the newly-elected Democratic governor and attorney general's efforts to have the state back out of the litigation and accept the 4th Circuit's decision last year voiding the 2013 law.

No justice dissented from the court's decision not to take the case or indicated whether he or she agreed with Roberts’ explanation of why the court was punting on the case.