Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James is taking a step we’ve long suggested to local leaders — sue the state of North Carolina for failing to provide constitutionally mandated criminal justice resources. In other words, the case takes a page out of the playbook of public education advocates who pressed school districts across the state, including CMS, to sue the state, claiming non-support.

The difference is, as the most recent probation system scandal confirms, there is absolutely no doubt the state has failed to meet its responsibilities on crime, especially in Charlotte. For this reason I fear that the defenders of the status quo — which certainly includes the state’s judicial system, most judges, and many laywers — will squelch James’ case before it gets moving.

The most obvious way to do this would be to deny that James has standing to sue the state. It would makes absolutely no sense, but the status quo cannot permit the question to be judged on its merits and risk upsetting the carefully calculated, purposeful policy of underfunding the state’s criminal courts system. In any event, the case is a needed step in the right direction.