The state's judges are among the nation's busiest. In 1998, North Carolina's Superior Court judges handled an average of 2,872 cases apiece - more than in every state but South Carolina and Utah, according to the National Center for State Courts. But what you have to realize is that quality suffers when you focus on quantity. The lack of money opens escape hatches for felony suspects. Criminal cases are delayed, giving suspects who are free on bond more time to victimize others.
Prosecutors make generous plea offers to keep cases from becoming time-consuming trials.
It also means prosecutors throw out more cases. A national study found that N.C. prosecutors dismissed one-third of criminal cases in 1998, more than all but three of the 27 states examined. In North Carolina, arrests for violent crime lead to prison less often than in any other Southern state but Georgia, U.S. Justice Department figures show. Behind the times The shortage of resources makes it harder for almost everyone in the justice system to do their jobs. Mecklenburg's court clerks have so little storage space that they regularly throw out official records for hundreds of dismissed criminal cases simply to make room for new files.