Earlier this week the SBI executed a search warrant at a Hoke County administrative office, taking control of the building Monday afternoon and searching it for several hours. County officials quoted in the Fayetteville Observer suggest that the investigation involves an issue with employee time sheets, but Sherriff Hubert Peterkin said that time sheets aren’t the exclusive focus. Another article from the Observer says that one county employee resigned on Tuesday and a Sherriff’s deputy was fired. Keep reading for more news.
DA Whistleblowing. WRAL reports that a woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging that she was fired by Person/Caswell District Attorney Wallace Bradsher for assisting the SBI in investigating whether Bradsher and Rockingham County District Attorney Craig Blitzer “conspired to hire each other’s wives and allow them to collect salaries while performing little work.” Bradsher has issued a statement saying that the lawsuit is based on “scandalous lies.” The News Roundup previously noted that the two offices were under SBI investigation.
New Judges. Governor Roy Cooper appointed three new judges recently. According to a press release, Marion Boone and Larry Leake will serve as District Court Judges in Districts 17B and 24, respectively, while Judge Vinston Rozier will serve as a Superior Court Judge in District 10B.
Juvenile Reinvestment. Want a quick primer on the NCCALJ’s proposal to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction in North Carolina? Head over to You Tube where Jessie has posted a short presentation giving an overview of Juvenile Reinvestment.
New Sentencing Hearing in Death Penalty Case. As the New York Times reports, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that a Texas death row inmate, Duane Buck, is entitled to a new sentencing hearing due to racially prejudiced testimony given during the sentencing phase of his trial. In a sentencing hearing, a defense-employed psychologist testified that Buck was more likely to pose a future danger because he is black. Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the testimony contained “a particularly noxious strain of racial prejudice” and was especially damaging because it was elicited from a defense witness.
Assault Weapons Ban. The Baltimore Sun reports that this week the Fourth Circuit upheld Maryland’s ban on assault weapons. Sitting en banc, the court ruled that ownership of assault weapons is not protected by the Second Amendment.
Chicken Heist. The News & Observer reports that recently “[a]n Alexander County man was arrested and charged in connection with the theft of a half-ton concrete chicken statue from a poultry farm.” Andrew Emilious Justice of Taylorsville is accused of using a tractor to seize and ultimately break a three-foot-tall white rooster statue. The roadside statue looks pretty impressive in pictures, it has probably tempted many a tractor driver over the years.