On July 18, a U.S. District Court Judge in South Carolina issued an 8-page Opinion in Greenville County Republican Party v State, 6:10-cv-1407, the case in which the South Carolina Republican Party argues that the Constitution protects its ability to limit its primaries to party members. The opinion gives both sides the chance to conduct discovery and present evidence, on the following questions: (1) is the Republican Party of either Greenville County, or the state party itself, really likely to hold closed primaries if either wins the case; (2) whether it is true or not that the state law barring a party from nominating by primary unless three-fourths of all delegates at a party convention (whether they are present at the moment to vote on the question) vote in favor of using a convention is too restrictive; (3) whether it is true or not that non-Republicans have been voting in Republican primaries; (4) what the results would be if the Republican Party were permitted to limit its primaries to party members.

Back on March 30, the same judge had issued an opinion in which the Republican Party seemed to have lost the case, although that opinion had been somewhat internally contradictory.