1/5/12
New Rules Restricting Panhandling: Free Speech Under Threat
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Attorneys working to protect free speech are concerned that efforts by some counties and North Carolina's capital city to regulate panhandling deny constitutional protections for free speech and other rights.
The ACLU of North Carolina has warned Johnston County, Wake County and Raleigh that new rules restricting panhandling may be unconstitutional and has asked them to repeal the restrictions or face possible lawsuits.
The letters from the American Civil Liberties Union went out Tuesday as the Johnston County Commissioners prepared to pass an ordinance that required $20, a background check and a state-issued photo ID for a monthly panhandling permit, all measures the ACLU called unlawful curbs on free speech.
Raleigh city officials have grappled with creating an effective panhandling ordinance since the mid-1990s when the General Assembly passed legislation that enabled cities and towns to strengthen their codes. Panhandlers were issued free permits, but unless a panhandler intimidated people or impeded traffic, the police rarely made arrests. The ordinance was strengthened over the years and again in 2011, restricting the locations and time-of-day panhandlers can solicit.
In 2011, Raleigh police issued more than 400 citations for begging without a permit, and arrests for panhandling were at a five-year high. Police have said they're acting in response to public safety concerns, including reports of panhandlers blocking sidewalks and other rights-of-way.
"There is no lesser right to the protections of our Constitution in general, and our First Amendment in particular, for those who find themselves down on their luck as a result of a bad economy or other personal reasons," ACLU Legal Director Katy Parker wrote in a letter to Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane and other city officials.
For more details, click here.
Posted by liz at January 5, 2012 2:35 PM EST
12/6/11
Dangerous toys being marketed to North Carolina children
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At this time of year following Black Friday and with Christmas approaching, a nonprofit group called World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has released a listing of dangerous toy products. North Carolina parents may want to avoid purchasing the toys on this list because these toys:
May contain choking and swallowing hazards.
Have sharp points or edges.
Present the possibility of injury because of a child falling on their neck or head.
Contain features that can cause burns.
Obviously, if anyone is going to be unaware of (or ignore) safety warnings, it will be children. Children will not care if a toy is not supposed to be used in only an intended and safe manner. A toy with sharp edges will possibly be used to stab other children. Items that were intended not to be swallowed probably will be swallowed. Children using products like stilts or trampolines will likely be injured in falls. Products that can cause burns likely will cause burns when it comes to usage by children.
Too often manufacturers will abrogate their responsibilities to parents to provide safe products by hiding behind disclaimer language that may not be clear to parents. Toy manufacturers need to test products in advance of release in order to make certain that the risk of injury is eliminated. Some toy products are recalled, but often the recall does not take place until an injury to a child has already occurred.
Product liability lawsuits are often what keep such manufacturers in line. Though it may already be too late for a child already injured by a toy, such a lawsuit may prevent a toy manufacturer from marketing other toys in the future that may present dangers to children.
Source: Winston-Salem Journal, "Hollifield: Danger lurks amidst these toys," by Scott Hollifield, Nov. 28, 2011
Blog entry reprinted with permission from Lewis & Roberts, PLLC (www.lewis-roberts.com)
Posted by liz at December 6, 2011 2:46 PM EST
11/29/11
North Carolina Votes to Repeal Racial Justice Act
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State senators have voted to repeal North Carolina's Racial Justice Act which had been heralded as one of the country’s most progressive criminal justice reforms in decades. The Act allows for relevant evidence, including statistical evidence, to be used to establish that race was a significant factor in seeking or imposing the death penalty. The law allows death row inmates to challenge that racial bias may have led to their death sentence. Supporters of the RJA, which prohibits seeking or imposing the death penalty on the basis of race, say that it is not a get of jail pass. For those who prove racial discrimination, their sentence will be commuted to a life without parole.
“We know that if you’re African American in this state, and the victim is white, you’re two and a half times as likely to get the death penalty,” said Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, who was a primary sponsor of the Racial Justice Act in 2009. He cited a study by Michigan State University researchers who reviewed the 173 death penalty cases in North Carolina from 1990 to 2010.
The House already approved the repeal, an effort backed largely by Republicans. They, along with other detractors, say the law clogged up the courts with hundreds of appeals and it was also an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty.
However supporters argued that it helped insure fairness in the administering of capitol punishment. “Any attempt to repeal or amend the Racial Justice Act is nothing more than an attempt at legislative racism and engaging in race bating politics,” said N.C. NAACP President Rev. William Barber. This debate and this repeal of the Racial Justice Act prevents the criminal justice system from coming to terms with the racially biased procedure for determining who lives and who dies.
The repeal will now head to Gov. Bev Perdue's desk for her approval.
Posted by liz at November 29, 2011 3:13 PM EST
9/29/11
NC Worker Safety Concerns On the Rise; NCAJ Speaks Out
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20 years ago a fire at a chicken plant in Hamlet, N.C. killed 25 workers; they were trapped in the factory at the time of the fire. The incident prompted a major overhaul of state workplace safety regulations and shed light on significant lapses in state OSHA inspections. Twenty years later, workers' advocates say inspections are lagging again, due to budget cuts, and there are more workplace deaths and injuries. According to published reports, the number of workplace safety inspectors in the state has not increased since 1993, but the state's workforce has increased by 19 percent. Last year, 48 people died on the job in North Carolina, up from 34 in 2009. NCAJ member <b>Woodrow Gunter</b> speaks out on this issue; click here for full article.
Posted by liz at September 29, 2011 8:10 AM EDT
