According to the News and Observer, plea negotiations regarding former Senator John Edwards have not resulted in an agreement, and Edwards "was indicted today [editor's note: literally, an hour or so ago] on charges of conspiracy and false statements and campaign law violations." The paper previously ran a detailed analysis of some of the legal issues in the case. In the reporter's view, "[t]he main questions in a criminal case would be whether payments to Edwards' mistress and a campaign staffer were intended to keep his 2008 campaign alive, and whether he knew about them." The former issue seems to involve some interesting election law considerations. In other news: 1. The General Assembly has continued working on the budget. Under the Dome reports here that the Senate has passed a $19.7 billion budget and sent it to the House for consideration. According to the News and Observer, "[t]he House plans to send it to [the Governor] on Saturday. Five House Democrats have said they will join Republicans in support, creating a veto-proof margin." Whether the budget is veto-proof is significant because Governor Perdue opposes the budget, in large part because of its cuts to education. The budget would also affect the court system in a variety of ways. For example, the Charlotte Observer reports here that it would eliminate drug treatment courts. 2. The General Assembly has been working on other issues as well. The News and Observer reports here that a House Judiciary Committee has endorsed a bill that would [...]
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