The budget is done, the Senate has adjourned, and the House will adjourn this morning. I’ve already posted about one aspect of the budget, here, but it is hundreds of pages long and includes other significant provisions, including (1) closing four prisons (Duplin, Robeson, Bladen, and Wayne), and Western Youth Institution, (2) funding “19 new toxicology positions in the Crime Lab to serve the western part of the State,” and providing money for related equipment, (3) cutting the budget for Prisoner Legal Services by $890,000 per year, (4) cutting the Administration Division of AOC by $4,000,000 per year, and (5) restoring 22 magistrate positions. The conference committee report on the budget is here. Please use the comments to highlight significant provisions that I didn’t mention. In other news: Speaking of budgets . . . In the federal courts, sequestration has been especially hard on the federal public defenders, many of whom have been forced into layoffs and furloughs, and some of whom have closed entire offices. The Huffington Post lays it out here, including the fact that paying private lawyers to handle the cases formerly assigned to public defenders will actually result in a net cost increase, not a savings. “Thunderous dissents.” A new study shows that Supreme Court Justices intensify their language when writing a dissent rather than a majority opinion. The Washington Post has the story – and some especially colorful quotes drawn from this Term’s dissents – here. Strange stories. While North Carolina’s attention was focused on the [...]
Faculty Coordinators
