For the week of
May 18, 2012
- carolinajournal.com
Reaction of the Week
RALEIGH — North Carolina should consider joining almost every other
state in making the juvenile justice system the default destination for
16-year-olds charged with crimes. That’s the conclusion two Texas-based
criminal justice experts reach in a new Spotlight report prepared for the John Locke Foundation.
Report co-author Marc Levin will share details from the research during a
public presentation at noon Monday, May 21, at the John Locke
Foundation office in Raleigh.
“North Carolina is one of only two states that automatically send all
16- and 17-year-old defendants to the adult justice system, but concerns
about deterrence, repeat offenses, the absence of education or
training, and the potential for harm indicate North Carolina should
reconsider its existing laws,” said Levin, director of the Center for
Effective Justice at the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation and
Right on Crime, a national organization devoted to criminal justice
policy research and analysis.
Levin and co-author Jeanette Moll, the Center for Effective Justice’s
juvenile justice policy analyst, detail each of these concerns in their
report. They also document safeguards that would ensure the “worst of
the worst” juvenile offenders continue to be tried and imprisoned as
adults, and recommend a “blended sentencing” mechanism that incorporates
both the juvenile and adult systems.
Thirty-seven states set the maximum age of jurisdiction for their
juvenile justice systems at 18, while 11 states set the age at 17,
according to Levin and Moll’s report. North Carolina and New York are
alone in sending all 16-year-olds to the adult system. New York allows
for a reconsideration of that initial placement.
News Features
CJ: Short session expected to be eventful
RALEIGH — We’ve had the long session, the
redistricting session, the constitutional amendment session, the veto
override session and skeleton sessions. Now it’s time for the General
Assembly to embark on what is traditionally know as the short session. CJ: Bill compensating eugenics victims has bipartisan support
RALEIGH — Compensation could soon be on its way
to victims of North Carolina’s involuntary sterilization program that
was in operation in the state for decades. Under the bill, which was introduced Wednesday during the opening day of
the General Assembly’s short session, victims of the state’s
involuntary eugenics program would each receive $50,000. CJ: Senate annexation reform hits fast track
RALEIGH — In what some are calling “punishment”
to the cities that sued over annexation reform legislation passed last
year, state lawmakers have rewritten the law so that it is even more
unfavorable to cities wishing to engage in involuntary annexation.
CJ: North Carolina imposes above-average occupational licensing burdens
RALEIGH — North Carolina ranks 29th of the 50
U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) when it comes to imposing
laws requiring people wishing to perform certain occupations to get a
license from the government, according to a new study by Institute for
Justice. CJ: Orange County Commission likely to move transit plan forward
HILLSBOROUGH — The Orange County Board of
Commissioners is expected Tuesday to approve a $1.4 billion light-rail
project for Durham and Orange counties and vote June 5 on a half-cent
sales tax to fund the controversial transit plan.
Upcoming Events
Monday, May 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM, Noon
A meeting of the Shaftesbury Society
with our special guest Marc Levin
"Right on Juvenile Crime in North Carolina"
|
Capital Quotes
“We’re here for a purpose and we want to be out of here in six weeks.”
— Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, talking to the Associated Press about the current short session of the General Assembly.
“Nobody can sugarcoat the fact that we got problems here.”
— Gary Pearce, a former Democratic consultant, commenting to the Associated Press on how Democrats current are doing in North Carolina. “Whatever we need to do to help Pat win, we will do. We rank this as one of the absolute top races in the country.”
— Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, as quoted by the Charlotte Observer, while speaking at Pat McCrory rally in Charlotte. McDonnell also heads the Republican Governors’ Association, which has already spent $800,000 in support of McCrory.
“About time.”
— Tom Condron, chef-owner of The Liberty pub in Charlotte, talking to the Charlotte Observer about a proposed change in state regulations that would allow customers to order their burgers and steaks cooked “rare.”
On The Air This Week…
This week on C J Radio…
Jane Shaw of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy offers recommendations for reforming the UNC System; Andy Ellen of the N.C. Retail Merchants Association, Gary Salamido of the N.C. Chamber, & Connie Wilson of the Employers Coalition of N.C. talk about unemployment insurance fraud; JLF’s Fergus Hodgson outlines tenets of libertarian tax policy; JLF’s Terry Stoops dissects an N.C. House education reform plan; and Troy Kickler of the N.C. History Project gives an overview of N.C.’s role in the Civil War.
This week on NC Spin…
Join guest moderator Henry Hinton
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. This week’s topics: Capping the gas tax; hospital charity care; lookin’ like Mississippi; and whether to end the death penalty. This week’s panelists: John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation; Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr; and political analyst Peg O’Connell.
|
