[southernnorthcarolina]

This is former speaker Black's second guilty plea to a felony in a week. Nothing subtle about this one. Cash in a manilla envelope in exchange for a party switch, with the control of the N.C. General Assembly at stake.

[Onelifetogive]

Former House Speaker Jim Black....

After extensive research by a crack team of investigative journalists, Jim Black's party affiliation could not be determined. (The only party mention in the article is the bribed party switch.)

[saganite]

Good! One more scumbag in the pen. We've been dealing with this POS here in NC far too long.

[popdonnelly]

Culture of corruption, maybe?

[DeweyCA]

And the newspaper did NOT explicitly label Black as a Democrat even once in the entire column. They simply implied it. Typical bias, and they are getting trickier about it.

[Alia]

Black entered an Alford plea, in which he doesn't admit guilt but is treated the same as if he had entered a guilty plea.

An Alford plea: Alford Plea

"The term "Alford Plea" has come to apply to any case in which the defendant tenders a guilty plea but denies that he or she has in fact committed the crime. The Alford plea is expressly prohibited in some states and limitedly allowed in others. In federal courts, the plea is conservatively permitted for certain defenses and under certain circumstances only.

But the most cited and most familiar Supreme Court case on plea bargaining is North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970). In 1970, North Carolina law provided that a penalty of ...

[Blogatron]

Hey Jim, bend over and take it like a man (or woman, as the case might be).

[jmaroneps37]

The rat loves people like this. He could get elected over and over with such a "great" resume. The rat loves his crooks.

[Constitution Day]

NC Democratic Culture of Corruption *Ping*

Please FRmail Constitution Day or Alia if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[Vinnie]

All told, Decker, who formerly represented the Winston-Salem area, got $58,000 from Black, $12,000 in cash and the rest in checks, according to State Bureau of Investigation assistant agent in charge Randy Myers.

What about prosecution of Decker?

As for Black.
Anyone who has heard the voice vote that instituted the lottery in NC cannot come to any other conclusion than the outcome was 'fixed'.
I'll bet Black got big bucks to ramrod that bill through.

This guy is beyond sleazy, he's in a whole other class.