Autopsy results would be kept secret from the public in cases under criminal investigation, under a proposed change to North Carolina law discussed Tuesday.
Autopsy results in cases that could be homicides would not be released until criminal charges are filed, said Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican.
Family members would not have access to autopsy reports, but district attorneys would be able to describe their contents to family members of the deceased. [Read more...]
The UNC Board of Governors voted Thursday to repeal the UNC System’s policy on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The motion was passed on a voice vote as part of the “consent agenda,” which included multiple action items. Two board members — Joel Ford and Sonja Phillips Nichols, who are both Black — asked to be recorded as having voted ‘no.’ Neither spoke publicly to explain their vote.
Prior to the action, UNC System President Peter Hans sought to frame the board’s action as advancing the cause of “neutrality.” [Read more...]
Now the state will pay nearly $885,000 in attorneys’ fees to the plaintiffs, including the ASPCA, the Government Accountability Project and Food & Water Watch, who successfully argued that the ag-gag law ran afoul of the First Amendment. [Read more...]
An airline passenger waiting for his flight looks at his phone while wearing a protective face mask. Legislation making its way through the North Carolina legislature would make mask wearing in public illegal. (Photo by Carol Coelho/Getty Images)
The North Carolina House on Wednesday rejected controversial Senate amendments to a bill that would, among other things, ban wearing masks in public, even for health reasons.
The bill now goes to a conference committee for possible changes.
Current state law allows people to wear masks in public for health reasons, an exemption added during the pandemic, but the Senate last week voted to repeal that exemption along party lines.[Read more…]
Governor Roy Cooper on Thursday vetoed House Bill 198, an omnibus transportation bill that would have resulted in more pruning along roadways to benefit outdoor advertisers.
Cooper said in his veto statement that protecting North Carolina’s beauty should be a top priority, not legislation that allows for more tree cutting and the destruction of native plants around billboards.[Read more…]
Every day, North Carolina students who cannot afford period supplies are forced to ask teachers or school staff for feminine hygiene products. Some students miss school because they don’t have tampons or menstrual pads at home.
Advocates for ending “period poverty,” the lack of access to supplies due to lack of income, met at the Legislative Building on Wednesday to emphasize the importance the issue has for education and student health.[Read more…]
Individuals and law firms making false claims of fraudulent voting cannot be sued for defamation, the NC Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The state Supreme Court’s five Republican justices ruled unanimously that people and entities bringing election protests enjoy “absolute privilege” that protects them from defamation lawsuits.
The case stems from false claims of double voting in 2016 after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in a close election.[Read more.…]
Criminal justice reform advocates voiced opposition on Wednesday to a bill that would amend the 2020 Second Chance Act to make expungement of certain criminal records harder to obtain. (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
The North Carolina House Judiciary 2 Committee approved a bill on Wednesday that would repeal automatic expungements of “not guilty” or “dismissed” charges from criminal records.
The committee approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 565 on a voice vote. As NC Newsline previously reported, the original bill proposed to restart automatic expungements the legislature approved in 2020, but that were paused months later and have now been on hold for nearly two years.[Read more...]
Members of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina held a press conference Tuesday morning at the North Carolina General Assembly to urge lawmakers to support House Bill 970. The bill would grant state recognition to the Tuscarora Nation. [Readmore…]
The North Carolina legislature has enacted a lot of half-baked and destructive laws over the last 13-plus years of conservative rule.
There was the HB2 debacle in which lawmakers made the state a national pariah and laughingstock by promoting the preposterous notion that male sexual predators[were diabolically masquerading as transgender women in order to gain access to women’s public restrooms.
