WAKE COURT TO DECIDE FACTS IN COLUMBUS COUNTY SHERIFF’S RACE
[RALEIGH] A Wake County Superior Court judge is yet to her arguments pertaining to the outcome of the Nov. 3rd, 2018 Columbus County sheriff’s race between Democrat incumbent Lewis Hatcher and Republican challenger Jody Greene. Greene beat Hatcher by 37 votes, but his residency was challenged before both the county and state boards of elections. The county ruled against Greene, but the state Elections Board ruled for Greene that he was a resident. The Columbus County Democratic Party appealed that decision to Wake Superior Court, claiming that Greene’s RV should not legally qualify was a domicile under North Carolina. As of Tuesday, there was no update.
GOVERNOR APPOINTS DAMON CIRCOSTA TO SBOE
[RALEIGH] Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed former State Board of Elections member Damon Circosta to serve on the current SBOE, replacing former Chairman Bob Cordle after he resigned last week in the aftermath of telling an off-color joke at a state conference. Upon his appointment, Circosta was immediately and unanimously voted the new chair of the SBOE. He has served as the executive director of the A. J. Fletcher Foundation since 2012.
SILER CITY RESTAURANT TARGET OF HATE LETTER
[SILER CITY] A new black-owned Siler City restaurant was the target of a a racist hate letter last week that threatened the owners to leave town. The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine who sent the letter to A & I’s Chicken Shack, and owner Andre Chaney. The hate missive contained several racial slurs, an told Chaney to leave town “or we will help you.” When word of the hate letter became public, the response was so overwhelming in terms of support, the store literally sold out of supplies by Sunday.
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As NC Chief Justice Cheri Beasley speaks during School Justice Partnership press conference Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper and other official listen.
GOVERNOR, CHIEF JUSTICE, ANNOUNCE
SCHOOL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
TO KEEP STUDENTS OUT OF JAIL
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
In an effort too keep troubled school students in the classroom and out of court and jail, Gov. Roy Cooper and Chief Justice Cheri Beasley were joined local judges, law enforcement, teachers, school officials and district attorneys Monday in Gibsonville to announce the School Justice Partnership (SJP).
‘School discipline has changed considerably in the last 20 years and students today are more likely to be arrested and sent to court for misbehavior that used to be handled with a trip to the principal’s office,” Chief Justice Beasley said in a prepared statement Monday.
“School Justice Partnerships create a space for teachers, principals and school resource officer to think differently about discipline and to redirect behavior so that these young people can see that they have a chance to be successful, to believe in themselves, and dream big for their futures.”
Without this program, the problem is real. Forty percent of all juvenile justice system referrals come from schools. Suspensions and expulsions increase the likelihood that affected students will soon find themselves entangled with the law.
And it also increases the likelihood of a lifetime pattern of criminal activity, and arrests going into adulthood.
In addition, fires show, students of color are 2.5 times likely to be referred to juvenile court, and 1.5 times more likely than whites to be placed in secure confinement. African Americans comprise 57 percent of suspensions, even though they are 26 percent of the total student population.
The SJP Toolkit, introduced Monday, can help local schools, law enforcement and judicial systems adequately address emerging student problems, Gov. Cooper told reporters.
“Our communities must engage with kids to help keep them in school and out of jail. The Toolkit planned by the Judicial Branch can help build positive partnerships and I have directed the Juvenile Justice Section of the Department of Public Safety to help with implementing School Justice Partnerships across North Carolina,” the governor said.
Ultimately, state and local officials are looking for dramatic decreases in the number of school-based juvenile justice referrals made to the court system.
SJPs are already underway in 15 judicial districts representing 35 counties across the state, including Guilford, New Hanover, New Brunswick, Mecklenburg and Wayne.
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REP. MAJEED
NC HATE CRIMES BILL
NOT GETTING TRACTION
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Amid two recent national tragedies - mass shootings where the majority of victims targeted were Hispanic and African American - along with racist letters suggesting violence against two black Charlotte County commissioners, and a Siler City restaurant, there’s little question that the racial atmosphere across the country, and here in North Carolina, is getting more tense everyday.
Many observers blame the harsh political rhetoric of President Donald Trump, noting his recent remarks calling the black neighborhoods of Baltimore “infested,” and inspiring a July 15th “Send her back” chant during a political rally in Greenville that targeted Somali-born U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
But even before these recent events, state Rep. Nasif Majeed of Charlotte filed a bill in the NC General Assembly that would make hate crimes in the state a felony, instead of the current misdemeanor.
House Bill 312 - the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, filed back on March 11th of this year, has thus far been held in the House Judiciary Committee, with not much movement.
According to language from the measure, this is, “…an act to increase the scope and punishment of hate crimes; to require the State Bureau of Investigation to create and maintain a hate crimes statistics database; to require the NC Justice academy to develop and provide law enforcement officers with training on identifying, responding to, and reporting hate crimes, an to require the Conference of Districts Attorneys of NC to develop and provide training to prosecutors on how to prosecute hate crimes.”
The bill continues that “If any Class A1 or Class 1 misdemeanor offense is committed because of the victim’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, nationality, country of origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation, the offender shall be guilty of a Class H felony.”
The measure, if passed, would also allow either for the victim, or a immediate family member of the victim, to file a civil suit to “…obtain appropriate relief from the person who committed the offense…”
In published reports, Rep. Masjeed says given all that’s going on in the nation an d North Carolina, there is no better time than now to pass hi legislation.
However, the Charlotte first-term Democrat is well aware that he’s in the minority in the Republican-led state House. He’s also aware that Republican lawmakers - just like the ones in congress - traditionally have dragged their feet when it comes to any kind of hate crimes laws, or laws regarding gun safety or keeping high powered weapons out of the hands of those not qualified to have them.
Thus, Majeed’s bill, though comprehensive, is not expected to go very far this year. And he doesn’t see Pres. Trump’s consistent negative rhetoric helping matters, either.
“What he says certainly doesn’t help and is fuel to the fire,” Majeed notes.
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