An audit of the state Bureau of Investigation has found that evidence had been withheld or distorted in about 200 cases. John Locke Foundation Direct of Legal and Regulatory Studies Daren Bakst expresses his concerns over the review and what it means to the rights of individuals for fair and impartial trials. Bakst reiterates his opposition to a new law that allows law enforcement to take a DNA sample from an arrestee. Then we turn to history. North Carolinians will have a chance next weekend to learn about North Carolina’s critical role more than 200 years ago in the development of the U.S. Constitution. They’ll also discuss the Constitution’s continuing importance. Troy Kickler, director of the N.C. History Project, and Michael Sanera, John Locke Foundation Director of Research and Local Government Studies, will conduct their second Citizen’s Constitutional Workshop in Raleigh. In this program, you’ll hear highlights from their inaugural presentation. Next, Daren Bakst is not alone in expressing concerns about the scandal surrounding the State Bureau of Investigation. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, who oversees the SBI, has announced staff shakeups and other changes designed to fix high-profile problems identified within the bureau. You’ll learn what Cooper is doing to repair the damaged SBI. That’s followed by a look at the Iraq War. Major U.S. combat operations just ended in Iraq, but historians and observers already have started assessing what went right and wrong in the controversial war. Author Richard Lowry dissects a key military operation in the book New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah. He explains why the Fallujah campaign proved critical to the Iraq War and how its lessons can be applied to Afghanistan. And finally, regardless of which political party is in control of the North Carolina General Assembly next year, there will likely be pressure from lobbyists to raise taxes. John Locke Foundation President John Hood explains which groups will be pushing for dollars and how lawmakers can, and why they should, balance the budget without raising taxes.
N.C. Law Enforcement Pushes the Privacy Envelope
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