Harris v. Matthews

NEWBY, Justice.

This case, involving an internal church governance dispute, presents two issues. First, we must decide whether defendant has the right to immediately appeal the trial court’s interlocutory order denying his motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Because we hold defendant can appeal the interlocutory order, we also address whether the restraints of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, preclude judicial intervention in this internal church controversy.

I. BACKGROUND

Saint Luke…