The General Assembly’s in session, and Republican legislators are moving to amend the Racial Justice Act. An AP article on point states that the proposal would “strip away much of the act,” but doesn’t delve into specifics. As far as I can tell, the current version of the bill under discussion is this one. Among other things, it would require the defendant to show evidence of discrimination in the county or prosecutorial district in question (the act currently allows the defendant to establish discrimination in the relevant judicial division or in the state as a whole); would limit the relevant time period to two years before and after the defendant’s death sentence; and would make statistical evidence alone insufficient to establish discrimination. In other legislative news, the General Assembly has passed some relatively technical changes to the Innocence Commission; a bill has been introduced that would tax internet sweepstakes; and there’s a proposal to criminalize selling a child (a murky area under current law, as I noted here). Meanwhile, removed-pending-appeal Durham DA Tracey Cline has asked the state to pay the cost of her appeal. According to the News and Observer, the state’s paying to defend the removal order but doesn’t seem inclined to cover Cline’s expenses. The media hasn’t paid much attention to the North Carolina Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice Paul Newby and Court of Appeals Judge Sam Ervin. However, it did get some coverage this week when a new, mostly Republican, super PAC announced plans to raise [...]
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