Tuesday, August 6.

That’s the day that, after waiting through much of 2019, former Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck will have his case heard by the NC Court of Appeals.

In April 2017, Rotruck was removed from his seat on the Summerfield Town Council after the Guilford County Board of Elections determined that he didn’t live in that town, and Rotruck has been battling the town and the elections board in court ever since – and now his case has moved up to the NC Court of Appeals.

The justices in that court are off on vacation for the month of July, but the Rotruck case is one of the first that they will hear after returning to Raleigh.  Earlier this year, Rotruck said he had hoped that the three-judge appeals court panel would hear the case before the July break, but that was not to be.

Rotruck said on Sunday, July 7, that he was encouraged by the fact that the panel of judges has indicated it will hear oral arguments in the case.  In some instances, the state’s appeal’s court merely reviews the previous lower court testimony and decisions.

According to Rotruck, there’s a lot of interest in this case among the legal community and among election officials across the state.

“This case may clarify a gray area in election law – they want to make sure that this does not happen again,” he said.