Courts and justice
Eight new public defender districts funded in the budget — but legal deserts remain
In May, the head of the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services told members of the Governor’s Crime Commission that almost half of the state’s 100 counties are “legal deserts,” meaning there was less than one lawyer for every 1,000 residents. But the state budget could help with that, Mary Pollard told officials. At […]
NC prison staffer sounds alarm on overcrowding, neglect of basic prisoner health and safety
A prison so packed that people on suicide watch are sleeping in 5-by-5-foot holding cages. A disabled Vietnam veteran sent to segregation after his peers attacked him. Incarcerated people spending months in solitary confinement, not because of misconduct inside the prison, but because they’re waiting for a bed to become available elsewhere. These were among […]
North Carolina’s new abortion law is back in federal court
Under the state’s new abortion law, doctors are not allowed to prescribe abortion pills before a patient’s embryo is visible on an ultrasound, which happens at about five or six weeks. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Dr. Beverly Gray, a Duke OB-GYN, are asking a federal court judge to put a freeze on that provision […]
Bookman: Trump, ‘Cop City’ RICO cases show danger of such laws
Georgia’s wide-ranging version of an anti-racketeering act, or RICO, puts a powerful weapon in the hands of prosecutors. And like any powerful weapon, it can be used for good, or for ill. The best safeguards against its abuse must be judges and juries, and both will come into play in the two major RICO-based prosecutions […]
U.S. attorney general defends Hunter Biden investigation under questioning by House GOP
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan on Wednesday grilled U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland about how the Justice Department has handled its investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden on felony gun charges. The questions about the president’s son came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week asked several committees, including the […]
Legal Aid lawyers carved out of tuition assistance program in latest budget
Under the latest state proposal budget, the North Carolina Legal Education Assistance Foundation would still provide tuition assistance for prosecutors and public defenders — but not Legal Aid lawyers. The carveout, located on page 413 of the most recent version of the state budget Republican lawmakers will vote on this week, restricts NC LEAF funds […]
Latest budget still includes expanded eligibility for prison medical release
Following the lead of a budget drafted by Senate legislators earlier this year, the latest version of lawmakers’ budget proposal would expand medical release for elderly people in state prisons. Current law dictating the medical release of old or sick incarcerated people is very narrow: they must be so sick that they’re likely to die […]
Monday numbers: New reports tout ‘Housing First’ to support formerly imprisoned people
The phrase, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time” is often hurled at people who have criminal records. But the “time” of a person’s punishment often extends beyond prison walls and follows a person home. People with criminal records who have paid their debt to society frequently have a hard time getting […]
NC Legislative Black Caucus defends Supreme Court justice’s right to talk about bias in the courts
The NC Legislative Black Caucus defended NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls on Wednesday, with members saying the investigation into her comments about bias in the judicial system violates her First Amendment rights. Earls, the only Black woman on the state’s high court and one of two Democrats, sued the state Judicial Standards Commission in […]
Legally required racial data can still fail to prove police stop people for ‘driving while Black’
Jeremy Johnson had parked his Ford Mustang beside a “No Trespassing” sign in the parking lot of Raleigh North Apartments in the early morning hours of Nov. 22, 2017. As Raleigh Police Officer B.A. Kuchen patrolled the lot, it looked to him like Johnson slid his body under the steering wheel, apparently trying to hide […]
Gov. Cooper selects Judge Allison Riggs to fill NC Supreme Court vacancy
Nine months after Governor Roy Cooper appointed Allison Riggs to serve on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Cooper turned to Riggs again today, asking her to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of state Associate Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan. In announcing the promotion Monday afternoon, the governor voiced unwavering confidence in […]
U.S. Justice Department asks Supreme Court to take up abortion pill case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the abortion pill should remain on the market after two lower courts issued differing opinions about its use. The case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will likely be the second time the conservative-leaning Supreme […]