North Carolina is poised to become the first state to establish an Innocence Inquiry Commission that would review inmates’ innocence claims. Legislation to create the panel recently passed the state Senate by a vote of 48-1, and it passed last year in the House of Representative by a vote of 80-23. The legislation now must go before a legislative conference to reconcile differences between the versions.

The House version of the bill would establish a permanent Innocence Commission and allow anyone to ask the commission to review a case. If the commission finds that innocence is likely, it would refer the case to a three-judge panel for a decision. The three-judge panel, chosen by the Chief Justice of North Carolina, could establish a finding of innocence by a 2-1 vote of the judges. The case would then be sent to the North Carolina Supreme Court for a final decision. The Senate version would exclude the consideration of innocence claims filed by people who pleaded guilty. In cases where the three-judge panel established innocence by a vote of 3-0, the Senate version would allow this vote to bypass further consideration by the Supreme Court. It would also establish that the Commission stop accepting cases after December 31, 2010, unless the legislature votes to renew the project.

Passage of conference legislation is expected, and the bill would then be sent to Governor Mike Easley for signature into law. According to a state budget document, the legislature has allotted $210,700 for the commission. “It’s already in the budget, and I think both sides have indicated by their overwhelming votes it’s a high priority,” said State Representative Rick Glazier.

(The Fayetteville Observer, July 13, 2006 and The News & Observer, July 13, 2006). See Innocence and Recent Legislative Activity. UPDATE: Gov. Easley signed into law on August 3, 2006 the bill creating N.C.’s Innocence Commission. The Commission will begin reviewing cases on Nov. 1. “The eight-member panel will be made up of a judge, prosecutor, defense lawyer and others. Five of the eight members must agree that a defendant deserves judicial review. Then a three-judge panel must unanimously agree that a defendant has presented “clear and convincing evidence” of factual innocence to be exonerated.” (Associated Press, Aug. 3, 2006).