'Possum lawsuit to continue, judge rules

RALEIGH - A Wake County District Court judge has declined to halt a lawsuit seeking to overturn a new state law intended to protect the annual 'possum drop in the Clay County community of Brasstown.

The decision Friday by Judge Bryan Collins opens the way for a Dec. 11 hearing on whether this year's version of the event can use a live possum.

Attorneys for state government had asked Collins to throw out the lawsuit brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and some Wake County residents, arguing that they do not have standing to challenge the law.

Collins disagreed and said the law could be held to violate the principle of equal treatment under the law.

The law, sponsored by Rep. Roger West, R-Cherokee, suspends state laws regarding possums from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2 each year. The possum drop involves lowering a possum in a clear box at midnight on New Year's Eve in a parody of New York's celebration in Times Square.