Carolina Journal Radio No. 757: State should ban law enforcement from ‘equitable sharing’ programs with feds

North Carolina lawmakers could take a step toward protecting private property rights by banning state and local law enforcement agencies from participating in so-called “equitable sharing” programs with the federal government. Jon Guze, John Locke Foundation director of legal studies, explains how these programs work. Guze also discusses the misuse of the programs and the negative impact on the relationship between law officers and the people they are hired to protect. October 31 marked the 500th anniversary of actions from German monk Martin Luther that led to the Protestant Reformation. The world still feels the effect of Luther’s decision to question basic practices of the Catholic church. Michael Gillespie, professor of political science and philosophy at Duke University, discusses how various strands of Luther’s thought helped influence competing ideas within American political history. N.C. lawmakers learned recently that three people die in this state every day because of opioids. The number might soon increase to four deaths per day. You’ll hear highlights from a legislative discussion of the ongoing opioid epidemic. This state’s elected leaders have been turning attention in recent months to the process of selecting judges to serve in N.C. courts. James Drennan, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Government, offered them a recent presentation comparing North Carolina to the rest of the states. Drennan reminded lawmakers that no state has developed a perfect system that guarantees both accountability for judges and independence from political forces. A new state legislative task force is diving into the details of North Carolina’s K-12 public education funding models. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation vice president for research, explains why the current system is confusing. He explains how reform might help N.C. taxpayers see a greater impact from the billions of dollars they spend each year on public schools.