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The 4th Circuit says the state's law criminalizing false statements related to political candidates is likely unconstitutional.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A federal appeals court sided again with North Carolina's attorney general on Wednesday, saying a 1931 libel law is most likely

Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Exum could mediate a settlement of the criminal libel law dispute pitting the state attorney general against Wake County’s district attorney. Paperwork filed Friday in U.S. District Court shows that competing parties in the case titled Grimmett v. Freeman have agreed to use the 87-year-old Exum as a mediator.

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein’s fight against a 1931 state criminal libel law could stretch into the summer, if the case survives a challenge at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Paperwork filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court sets out tentative dates for the case titled Grimmett v. Freeman.

In a 2-1 decision in August, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary injunction to Stein’s campaign, which was worried a grand jury could soon indict Stein and advisers by attempting to enforce a state law making certain political speech a crime.