Last month, the NC Judicial College offered our first criminal legal update via Zoom. Many of you tuned in and said you liked it. So we followed up two weeks later with another. Some of you have said we should make this a thing. We’re not ready to say this is forever just yet, but we like the way things are going. So please join us again this Friday for our third Zoom update in the time of COVID-19. And we will commit right now to offering another criminal legal update on Friday, May 8. Here are the details for joining us this week:
News Roundup
As ABC 11 reports, four inmates at Butner Correctional Institution have died in recent days from COVID-19. Over last weekend, Charles Richard Rootes, Gary Edward Nixon, and Andre Williams died from complications caused by the virus. On Monday, another inmate died but his name had not been released publicly at the time of writing. All of the Butner inmates were being treated in hospitals when they passed away. On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 66 inmates and 25 staff members at the prison had tested positive for the virus.
Creative Sentencing in the Age of COVID-19
As the struggle to contain the COVID-19 crisis grinds on, including concerns about the possible spread of the virus in jails and prisons, there has been a renewed interest in finding alternatives to sentences that involve extended periods of incarceration. It will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that Jamie Markham has written about such alternatives many times over the years. But in light of the current health situation, I thought this would be a good opportunity to revisit some of those topics, collect them together in one post, and try to expand on a few of the suggestions and options.
I should also acknowledge that this post was prompted, at least in part, by the fact that I only recently learned about an unusual type of sentence known as the “Holbrook Holiday.”
2020 Sentencing Commission Statistical Report Available
Correctional statistics have been in the news as we consider the impact of the coronavirus on our jails, prisons, and supervised populations. This week the Secretary of Public Safety announced a decision to extend the limits of confinement for certain categories of inmates under G.S. 148-4 (the general plan is outlined here). That (in conjunction with the existing moratorium on new entries) caused the prison population to fall throughout the week. Advocates continue to push for broader releases.
But today’s post isn’t about what’s happening now to get certain inmates out of prison. Instead, it’s a review of the last year’s worth of data on how those inmates got there in the first place. The North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission recently published its annual Structured Sentencing Statistical Report for Felonies and Misdemeanors. Here are the highlights.
Filing Deadlines Further Extended to Combat COVID-19; Colloquy and Form Available for Remote Proceedings
Chief Justice Cheri Beasley entered an order yesterday extending until June 1, 2020 the time and periods of limitations for documents and papers due to be filed and acts due to be done in the trial courts. The Chief Justice previously had extended to April 17, 2020 the deadline for filings, periods of limitation and other acts. She further extended those deadlines based on predictions that late April “may be the apex of the [COVID-19] outbreak in North Carolina.”
Capacity, Commitment, and COVID-19
The capacity-commitment process in criminal cases is complicated. It involves many moving parts in two different systems: criminal justice and mental health. How is the process bearing up in the COVID-19 era? Based on my conversations with the experts—lawyers, judges, and mental health professionals involved in these cases—the answer is surprisingly well. This post considers the various steps in the process and focuses on a concern common to many court proceedings these days: when does the defendant need to be present, in person or remotely?
CJIL Project Manager
Because of the state holiday on Friday, there will not be a News Roundup this week but we have a job announcement that may interest blog readers. The School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab, led by Jessica Smith, is hiring a Project Manager. The CJIL Project Manager will be responsible for managing a variety … Read more
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (April 7, 2020)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided on April 7, 2020.
Case Summaries – North Carolina Supreme Court (April 3, 2020) and United States Supreme Court (April 6 & March 23, 2020)
This post summarizes the published criminal cases from the North Carolina Supreme Court issued on April 3, 2020, and two decisions from the United States Supreme Court issued on April 6 and March 23, 2020.
Thanks to John Rubin and Chris Tyner for preparing the U.S. Supreme Court summaries.
Two-Week Moratorium on Inmate Transfers to Prison
Effective today, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety has placed a 14-day moratorium on the movement of inmates from the county jails to the state prison system. State officials made the decision with the support of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic.