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NC Court of Appeals Judge Reuben Young joined us in person to discuss the state of the judiciary and access to justice.  He first described the kinds of cases the Court of Appeals decides and further described how the Court works in panels of three judges at a time.  He stated that, except for finding a way to have hearings (now via WebEx), their work never stopped.

Having served as legal counsel to Governor Mike Easley, Interim Chief Deputy of Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice, and the Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, Judge Young shared that the two areas he most believes need changes are: 

• How defendants who are substance abusers and those with mental health issues need treatment, not confinement, and;
• The need to find resources to help the poor get legal counsel—which also means that attorneys willing to do the work need to be paid more so they can actually take the cases.