Local News - October 2002

Young touts non-partisan support

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

October 9, 2002 - For 16 years, Democrat Bill Young has been the only district attorney Lincoln County has known.

Young, who represents Lincoln and Cleveland counties in Judicial District 27B, would like to continue that role for another four years.

The district attorney’s job is to represent the state in any criminal proceedings in district or superior court and determine whether or not a case can be successfully prosecuted. Young, 58, of Shelby, said he tries to save taxpayers’ money by trying to make sure a defendant’s guilt can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before going to trial.

In North Carolina, district attorneys serve four-year terms and earn slightly more than $100,000 per year.

One of Young’s proudest accomplishments was the establishment of a program for victims of domestic violence using grants from the state government that were cut in the new state budget. Despite the loss of funding for that program, Young still has a special prosecutor assigned specifically to domestic violence cases, as well as two other prosecutors who deal strictly with non-domestic violent crimes and crimes in which children are victims.

Young also boasts about the non-partisan backing he gets from the heads of every law enforcement agency in Lincoln and Cleveland counties.

Despite Young’s seemingly broad support from the law enforcement community, his opponent, Republican Colin P. McWhirter, is challenging Young and his office on several issues he perceives as being mishandled.

McWhirter claims Young and other prosecutors in his office:

 Do not prosecute cases in a timely manner or focus on serious crimes before dealing with more trivial cases,

 Fail to give “black-on-black crimes” enough attention,

 Often cannot be found when they are supposed to be in court or keeping regular office hours,

 Do not thoroughly examine the criminal backgrounds of defendants before offering plea bargains.

Responding to McWhirter’s charges, Young said his office has been effective with the resources the General Assembly has given it and, overall, gets good, timely results. For proof, Young points to some of his most prominent supporters.

“If we did not try cases in a timely manner, law enforcement would not support me,” Young said.

Young said the accusation about his office’s alleged failure to fully prosecute black-on-black crimes was “an obvious attempt by (McWhirter) to create race as an issue.” He added that his office prosecutes crimes involving any victim “regardless of their color.”

Young dismissed the allegation that he does not spend the proper amount of time in his office and encouraged anyone interested in the issue to check with other attorneys.

And, according to Young, more goes into a plea bargain than just a background check. He said prosecutors have to look at the available evidence and determine “the probability of success” before pursuing a case.

“Just because a person is arrested, that in and of itself does not mean there is enough evidence to convict,” Young said. “Remember, to arrest, you only have to have probable cause; to convict, you have to have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Young earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and received his law degree from UNC Chapel Hill. He is married with two children.

In addition to his job as district attorney, Young is a member of Rotary Club, Shelby Presbyterian Church and is president of the Friends of the Library.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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