Articles in the Uncategorized category - Page 94 of 154

Our colleague Bob Farb announced his retirement on the blog yesterday. He worked for the School of Government for 41 years, interacted with every group of public officials imaginable, and was highly productive and widely respected. This post remembers Bob’s career.

After 41 years with the School of Government (formerly, the Institute of Government), I will retire on June 30. It has been my privilege to serve those who work in […]

The General Assembly passed a $23 billion state budget bill this week that includes provisions likely of interest to blog readers.  In what would be a significant change to the criminal justice system, the proposed budget raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction such that most cases against 16- and 17-year-olds will be handled in the juvenile system, rather than the adult system, beginning in December 2019.  The News Roundup previously noted that the proposal to raise the age had broad support from law makers and criminal justice system stakeholders.  A more controversial provision of the bill cuts roughly $10 million from the administrative and legal services budget of the Department of Justice.  Keep reading for more news.

In Packingham v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down G.S. 14-202.5, North Carolina’s ban on sex offenders accessing commercial social networking websites. The law violates the First Amendment.

On Wednesday, a man with a rifle ambushed Republican members of Congress at a park in Virginia as the lawmakers held a morning baseball practice in preparation for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, which was held yesterday.  Five people were wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was in critical condition at the time of writing.  Two Capitol Police officers engaged the gunman in a shootout where he was fatally injured.  The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, seemingly was motivated by political animus – he reportedly asked whether the lawmakers were Democrats or Republicans before the attack.  The Washington Post has comprehensive coverage of the incident.  Keep reading for more news.

Former FBI director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is without question the biggest news of the week.  CBS News says that bars across the country opened early to serve drinks to customers while they watched the testimony live.  The Chicago Tribune says that workplace productivity was expected to plummet Thursday, much as it does during March Madness, as workers tuned into the testimony at their desks.  Keep reading for more news.

Over the weekend I indulged my passion for music, which started me thinking about the overlap between music and my day job at the School of Government—in other words, songs that involve criminal law. Once I started, it wasn’t hard to come up with several examples, in different genres and about different phases of criminal proceedings. My choices, below, show that we are products of our eras; they date me. What songs about criminal law stand out for you?

The News & Observer reports that Governor Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit against legislative leaders last Friday that, among other things, contends that the new law that reduces the number of judges on the Court of Appeals impermissibly changes the length of a judge’s term without a supporting amendment to the state constitution.  The Observer report says the lawsuit is “one of a series that Cooper . . . has filed since taking office in January” and is part of an ongoing power struggle between Cooper and legislative leaders.  Keep reading for more news.

A suspected suicide bombing that killed twenty-two people at a concert in Manchester, England, is the major news story of the week.  BBC News has an overview of the situation here.  A 22-year-old Manchester man, Salman Abedi, has been named as the suspected bomber, and seven other men, some of whom are related to Abedi, had been arrested in connection with the attack at the time of writing.  The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing, and the U.K. has raised its terror threat level from “severe” to “critical,” meaning that another attack may be imminent.  Keep reading for more news.

Earlier this month, the North Carolina House overwhelmingly passed House Bill 551, An Act to Amend the Law and Constitution of North Carolina to Provide Better Protections and Safeguards to Victims. The bill now awaits consideration by the Senate, where it has been referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations. The legislation is championed by the advocacy group, Marsy’s Law for All, which is seeking to amend state constitutions and, ultimately, the U.S. Constitution to enshrine victims’ rights. What is the impetus for Marsy’s Law and how would enactment of the constitutional amendment proposed in House Bill 551 change North Carolina’s existing constitutional and statutory protections for victims?