Under the Sixth Amendment every criminal defendant has a constitutional right to legal representation — and if you can’t afford a lawyer, you have the right to have one provided by the state. 

A juvenile justice system already stressed to the limit is about to be stretched even further, thanks to a change in state law that will increase caseloads as well as the need for youth diversionary programs. And although this coming change has been on the radar for some time now, there’s still no clear signs on who’s going to pay for it, how or when. 

A magistrate judge is often one of the first people you’ll come into contact with when you find yourself entangled in the criminal justice system.

Women make up the fastest growing segment of inmates in the U.S. correctional system.

According to a 2016 study conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice, the number of women in jail grew from under 8,000 in 1970 to over 110,000 in 2014 and nearly half of them are in small county jails. 

A Cherokee resident will spend four years in federal prison for his involvement in the 2015 stabbing death of 25-year-old Tyler Gaddis, of Whittier. 

Two defendants in a marriage fraud case set to go to trial Monday, May 14, have opted to enter a guilty plea instead. 

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for Macon County as school administration and law enforcement try to get to the bottom of a student-led suicide pact and a student-made hit list. 

Howard “Howdy” White Jr., a former episcopal priest who served in Waynesville until 2006, was indicted last week by a Haywood County Grand Jury on sexual abuse charges.

A bail bondsman who the FBI accused of accepting sexual favors in lieu of monetary repayments pleaded guilty to one count of forced labor, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. 

Plans to build a crisis stabilization unit in Cherokee for people battling addictions stalled this month when Tribal Council, for the second month running, voted to delay approval of the $31.5 million expenditure.