State of North Carolina v. Gordon S. Carr

The State of North Carolina appeals from an order of the United States District Court at Charlotte voiding a judgment of a State court holding an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in contempt. The finding of contempt rested on the agent’s refusal, pursuant to the instructions of the Attorney General of the United States, to answer questions propounded to him when called as a witness in a private civil action then on trial in the State court. As the contempt order now presents only an academic question, we dismiss the appeal as moot.

In the private litigation, plaintiff was seeking…