The Legal Eagle Review

NC Sheriffs, I.C.E. & HB 370

HB 370 has been introduced in this session of the North Carolina General Assembly and is presently being considered by the State Senate. If passed and signed into law by the Governor, HB 370 would require that every elected North Carolina Sheriff to fully cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when ICE officials believe that an arrested person has entered the country illegally. The bill would require that Jail Administrators allow ICE Officers to interview any person within the County’s custody upon request for it to be determined if an ICE warrant has been issued for that person. If a warrant has been issued, the Administrator must take that individual before a County Magistrate to seek authorization for that person to be held in jail until ICE officers can take the person into federal custody. If the Sheriff fails or refuses to comply with this directive, the Sheriff can be removed from office. This legislation has drawn opposition from many Sheriffs, legislators, civil rights organizations, lawyers and citizens on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and counter-productive. On this show, we discussed the problems with this proposed legislation with Sheriff Clarence Birkhead of the Durham County Sheriff Department and Ivan Almonte, a Durham Community Activist and partner with Bull City Lawyer.

Criminalization of the Poor

The current structure of the North Carolina criminal justice system routinely imprisons people for no reason other than their inability to pay a court-imposed debt. And the failure to pay often results in the imposition of even more fines, which results in greater debt and hardship. Our criminal justice system treats poor people more severely than those with means, causing poor people to suffer greater criminal consequences than those with means who commit the same offenses. On this show, we talked with Laura Holland, Staff Attorney at the NC Justice Center, and Quisha Mallette, Community Advocate for Reinvestment Partners, about the extreme challenges faced by low-income people in dealing with the criminal justice system in North Carolina, and how the system has resulted in the criminalization of poverty and the unequal treatment of the poor in this state.

Juneteenth & Reparations

Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19th, recognizes the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and the official conclusion of the Civil War on May 13, 1865. This celebration date results from the arrival of General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, and announced to the inhabitants that slavery had ended. June 19th became the symbolic day for the celebration of the end of slavery following celebrations which began in Texas in 1866. As a holiday, Juneteenth is now celebrated in forty-five State and in the District of Columbia. Slavery exacted a tremendous toll on enslaved Africans and upon their descendants. For generations, Africans were forced to provide free labor for Whites and were subjected to the most brutal and degrading treatment imaginable. An increasing number of people have joined in efforts to demand Reparations for the many years of forced labor endured by the ancestors of African Americans. Many also advocate for compensation for the official sanctioned oppression and dehumanization which were inflicted upon African Americans during the “Jim Crow” era, which lasted from the late 1890s up until 1970s. By every measure, the impacts of slavery and “Jim Crow” continue to negatively impact African Americans and are the principal causes of the huge wealth gap which presently exists in the United States between Africa Americans and whites. On this show, we discussed Juneteenth and Reparations with Dr. Sandy Darity, the Director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University and Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the Research Director at the Cook Center for Social Equity.

Opioid Crisis in North Carolina

North Carolina is no stranger to the opioid crisis sweeping the nation. In this State alone, from 1999 to 2017, more than 13,000 North Carolinians died from opioid overdoses. In 2017, five North Carolinians died each day from unintentional opioid overdoses. In that year, more than 521 million opioid pills were dispensed to North Carolina residents. The death rate attributed to opioid overdoses rose from 116 in 2013 to almost 2,000 in 2017. Among African Americans, the rate of increase in these overdose deaths is higher at the national level even though the actual use of opioid by Whites is higher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 5,513 African Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2017, which represented an increase of 26% over the 2016 number. In this show, we talked about the opioid crisis with Attorney Hugh Harris, Outreach & Policy Counsel for the Public Protection Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice and Dr. Jennifer Carroll, Professor of Anthropology at Elon University.

2020 Census

The United States Constitution requires a census of the American population every ten years. Therefore and for many reasons, getting an accurate count of the United States population is important each decade. An accurate count of the United States population is used to determine how many U.S. Representatives a state will receive and the amount of federal funds provided to each State. Census data is also used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. In light of the mobility of the American population, it is critical that the census is regularly taken and that the results present an accurate as possible count for each State. On this show, we talked about the need for accurate census data with Stacey Carless, Executive Director of the N.C. Counts Coalition, and Juliana Cabrales, Mid-Atlantic Director of Civic Engagement for the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund.

Hip Hop & the Law

Hip Hop first made its appearance on the scene in the 1970s, when black and brown kids in the Bronx began spitting lyrics to popular songs. Today, Hip Hop is the most consumed genre in American. And the demand is reflected in record sales here in the United States and worldwide. Hip Hop has influenced American politics and culture and has also been influenced by the American legal system. On this show, we talked about the law through the lens of hip hop with NCCU Law professor Todd Clark.

Discussion with Graduating Law Students

Law school is a unique and difficult endeavor, but reaching the end of the journey is equally rewarding. On this show, we talked with four graduating NCCU law students about their law school experience and future plans. Our guests: Desirae Hutchinson, Mariel Kirby, Xavier Lightfoot, and Ernest Smith.

NC Charter Schools

In North Caroline, charter schools were authorized beginning in 1996 with the enactment of the NC Charter School Act, and the first North Carolina charter schools began operation in 1997. When charter schools were initially authorized, there was a cap and not more than 100 charter schools would be authorized. The cap was removed in 2011, and in August 2019 the state will have nearly 200 charter schools. As a result of the significant rise of charter schools and concerns about the inequity and the lack of accountability, State Senator Dan Blue introduced Senate Bill 247, which would establish Joint Legislative Study Committee to study the impact of charter schools on traditional public schools and student academic performance and put a hold on the granting charter applications until after the committee has issued its report and recommendations. On this show, we discuss charter schools in NC with Malik Edwards, Law Professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, and Erika Wilson, Law Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.

Mexican Consulate and the Consul General

It is estimated that the Mexican population that resides within the United States is approximately 10% of that country’s estimated 326 million residents. The Mexican government operates 50 official Consulates in the United States with one being located right here in the Raleigh-Durham area. On this show we discuss the Mexican Consulate in this area is its official Consul General, Dr. Remedios Gomez Arnau. Also joining in the conversation is Joseph Garcia, a third-year student at the NCCU School of Law.

UNC Board of Governors

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors was created in 1971 and charged with the responsibility of governing or overseeing the work of the State’s 17 public higher education institutions. The Board currently has 24 members, including the President of the UNC Faculty Assembly. On this show, we discuss the work of the UNC Board of Governors with Professor David Green, the President of the UNC Faculty Assembly, and Professor Kimberly Cogdell-Grainger, Secretary of the UNC Faculty Assembly.