RALEIGH — Notable during the 2003 session of the North Carolina General Assembly was an unwillingness to tackle and resolve major public policy issues. Two big pieces of legislation that didn’t make it this year were a proposed moratorium on capital punishment and a reform of the state’s medical-malpractice laws.
There were a variety of reasons why the death-penalty bill didn’t get a vote in the N.C. House after (surprisingly) passing the N.C. Senate. The key, though, is that the prospects are dim for the House to do anything on the issue in 2004. If state lawmakers attempt to resuscitate the moratorium in an election year, I think voters will likely consider them guilty of legislative malpractice. While concern about whether our legal system is operating in a fair and effective manner is proper and admirable, it does not justify the suspension of justice — which is what the legislation would essentially constitute. For some egregious murders, there is simply no just punishment short of execution. That’s the position of most North Carolinians, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.
On the medical-malpractice front, I think the legislative prospects are a little better. It’s not often that you see the kind of interest-group politics state lawmakers were treated to throughout the year as physicians, hospitals, plaintiffs’ lawyers, defense lawyers, insurers, and others weighed in on a proposed cap on pain and suffering awards from juries. While I think the issue is complex and some of the most promising solutions are not addressed in the current legislation, we have to start somewhere. With strong support among key Democratic senators and some House Democrats and Republicans, I see the measure as having a fair chance of at least getting a serious airing in both chambers during the 2004 short session. What will pass may ultimately hinge on such factors as the economic situation this time next year, the political atmosphere in the General Assembly, whether one or both of the gubernatorial nominees chooses to embrace the issue (on either side), and possible action on malpractice legislation in the U.S. Congress.
Basically, state lawmakers left two major pieces of legislation on their death beds. Only one is likely to pull through.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.