The General Assembly continues to move swiftly. Its budget is on the Governor's desk, so legislators have turned their attention to other matters. For example, S 756, which would eliminate unsecured bond as a possible condition of release, and which would impose several limitations on pretrial release programs, passed the Senate and has moved to the House. Speaking of moving swiftly, one Senator seems to have regaled his colleagues on the Senate floor with a story about another Senator taking him for a 145 mile per hour jaunt in the latter's muscle car. As reported here, the Highway Patrol has declined to investigate, citing G.S. 120-9, which provides: "The members shall have freedom of speech and debate in the General Assembly, and shall not be liable to impeachment or question, in any court or place out of the General Assembly, for words therein spoken." The allegedly speedy Senator followed the tale by saying that he "plead[s] not guilty." In other news: 1. The News and Observer ran a very detailed article about the pre-charge bargaining that apparently took place in the John Edwards case. Those interested in the back-and-forth can find the story here. 2. Forty years after President Nixon declared a war on drugs, the Global Commission on Drug Policy just issued a report, available here, arguing that "[t]he global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. . . Government expenditures on futile supply reduction strategies and incarceration displace more cost-effective and [...]
Faculty Coordinators
