GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1584

Short Title:  Twenty-Sixth Prosec. Dist. Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives McLaughlin; Balmer, Barnhill, Cunningham, Diggs, Easterling, Foster, and Grimmer.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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May 4, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR OPERATIONS OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH PROSECUTORIAL DISTRICT.
Whereas, the Constitution of the State of North Carolina establishes the position of District Attorney in each prosecutorial district as the position responsible for the prosecution on behalf of the State of all criminal actions in the Superior Courts of that district; and
Whereas, the Constitution of the State of North Carolina insures that prosecution of crimes in the District Court Division shall be as prescribed by the General Assembly, pursuant to general criminal laws applicable uniformly throughout the State; and
Whereas, the State is responsible for funding the positions and operation of a District Attorney's Office in each of the State's prosecutorial districts as part of the unified judicial system, the General Court of Justice; and
Whereas, the State has not increased funding to the Office of the District Attorney in the 26th Prosecutorial District since 1979, although the population of the district has increased seventeen percent (17%) and the district's crime rate has risen seventy-two percent (72%) in the same period; and
Whereas, funding has been provided at increasing levels for the district's Office of the Public Defender, so that the State is now providing more money for indigent defense than for the prosecution of all criminal offenses in the 26th Prosecutorial District; and
Whereas, the effects of inadequate funding for the prosecution in this district include the de facto decriminalization of certain offenses, as existing resources can be applied to only the most significant criminal offenses.  Many serious crimes go unpunished because of a failure to provide adequate prosecutorial resources.  This results in disparate treatment on a statewide basis of victims of crime and offenders by an ostensibly uniform system; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 7A-60(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	The counties of the State are organized into prosecutorial districts, and each district has the counties and the number of full-time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table:
No. of Full-Time
Judicial	 Asst. District
District	Counties	Attorneys
1	Camden, Chowan, Currituck,	5
Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
Perquimans
2	Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,	4
Tyrrell, Washington
3A	Pitt	5
3B	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	4
4	Duplin, Jones, Onslow,	8
Sampson
5	New Hanover, Pender	7
6	Bertie, Halifax, Hertford,	4
Northampton
7	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	7
8	Greene, Lenoir, Wayne	8
9	Franklin, Granville, 	6
Person, Vance, Warren
10	Wake	15
11	Harnett, Johnston, Lee	6
12	Cumberland	11
13	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus	5
14	Durham	8
15A	Alamance	3
15B	Orange, Chatham	3
16A	Scotland, Hoke	none
16B	Robeson	7
17A	Caswell,	4
Rockingham
17B	Stokes, Surry	3
18	Guilford	14
19A	Cabarrus, Rowan	6
19B	Montgomery, Randolph	4
20	Anson, Moore, Richmond,	8
Stanly, Union
21	Forsyth	10
22	Alexander, Davidson, Davie,	7
Iredell
23	Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,	3
Yadkin
24	Avery, Madison, Mitchell,	3
Watauga, Yancey
25	Burke, Caldwell, Catawba	8
26	Mecklenburg	26
27A	Gaston	6
27B	Cleveland,	4
Lincoln
28	Buncombe	5
29	Henderson, McDowell, Polk,	6
Rutherford, Transylvania
30	Cherokee, Clay, Graham,	5
Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
Swain."
Sec. 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Court $367,185 for the 1989-90 fiscal year and $366,058 for the 1990-91 fiscal year, to implement Section 1 of this act.
Sec. 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts $230,955 for the 1989-90 fiscal year and $222,468 for the 1990-91 fiscal year to provide for the 26th Prosecutorial District:
(1)	One legal assistant;
(2)	One file clerk;
(3)	One assistant supervisor;
(4)	One calendar clerk;
(5)	Three victim/witness assistants for misdemeanors;
(6)	Two misdemeanor screening legal assistants;
(7)	Two DCI terminals; and
(8)	Specialized training for assistant district attorneys and support staff.
Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.