State ex rel. McCrory v. Berger

MARTIN, Chief Justice.

Our founders believed that separating the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of state government was necessary for the preservation of liberty. The Constitution of North Carolina therefore vests each of these powers in a different branch of government and declares that “[t] he legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the State government shall be forever separate and distinct from each other.” N.C. Const, art. I, § 6.

Each branch of government has a distinctive purpose. The General Assembly, which comprises the legislative branch, enacts laws that…