This week’s Editorial page includes columns from this ink-stained wretch, also William Rowell, Keith Throckmorton and Carolina Journal’s Mitch Kokai.

By Miles Layton

Random thoughts that are sure to get me in trouble — again…

Shortly after winning the Republican Primary election, which more or less determines who’ll be elected as Pasquotank County Sheriff in the fall, since there’s no Democratic opposition, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II sacked four deputies, including his opponent from the primary – not a surprise. 

Other places I’ve worked as an editor, this rule holds true — deputies, if you’re going to run against the sheriff or support another candidate for sheriff, it’s probably best not to work for the current sheriff, or to start polishing your resume if your candidate loses. Honestly, that’s more or less the same in any local election. If you run against the boss, you’d better win. 

Law enforcement is not like managing a presidential cabinet full of rivals, as President Lincoln did – though he did have his issues with McClellan. Instead, with law enforcement, you need a unified chain of command that’s beyond reproach. That doesn’t mean officers can’t have different opinions, but it’s best to be on the same page, or morale may be affected. 

Political news – I saw that Congressman Don Davis posted a photo with recent polling data showing that of 500 people asked, 42 percent support him, compared to Republican Laurie Buckhout’s 39 percent. 

“New polling shows the race is a toss-up, and we’re ahead 42-39. We’ll keep working every day for Eastern NC,” Davis posted with the poll on his Facebook page.  

A few things – there’s no breakdown of polling data included with that post, so … registered voters? Likely voters — equal Democrats to Republicans, who knows? And 500 people polled from a multi-county district with more than 750,000 people, that’s been gerrymandered to favor Republicans, eh, maybe think again when posting a poll like that.

Inside baseball wisdom that applies to any candidate – if you’re running for reelection and you’re within the margin of error of polling data, particularly leading into the November election, you might want to consider polishing off your resume like those deputies in Pasquotank County. Don’t believe me? Ask Hillary Clinton in 2016 – after the election, honest polling data indicated her lead shrank quite a bit in the final stretch of that campaign. 

Speaking of candidates who probably trusted the polling data a little too much, Senator Phil Berger may have been defeated by Sam Page in the Republican Primary.  Humiliating…

NC Rep Keith Kidwell posted – “Ding dong” – a reference to the witch (Berger) being dead from the Wizard of Oz, that ends inexplicably with Dorothy choosing to give up the throne of Oz in favor of going home, probably to dustbowl Kansas, in a time when women were considered second-class citizens. She should’ve stayed, raised an army of flying monkeys, and armed munchkins to fight the patriarchy, as well as enact and enforce equal rights for women decades sooner. 

Back to Berger: Page now leads by 23 votes after leading by just two on election night. But the race is not over… The margin is less than 1%, which could trigger a recount after the results are certified on March 13. 

Worth noting, Kidwell didn’t win his primary fight – upset by Darren Armstrong in the Republican Primary for NC House District 79.

I’ll say this before moving on – it’s a long way to November. We have – another – war that’s sure to affect gas prices, the economy and inflation. And midterm elections tend to favor the party of power, so there’s that. I suspect the Davis v Buckhout race for Congress will get pretty heated and may be pretty close – perhaps closer than last time when Davis narrowly edged out Buckhout because of internal strife amongst Republicans. 

Aren’t ya glad that Buckhout won the primary handily — there won’t be a runoff!

To be candid, I thought there was a good chance for a runoff between Buckhout and Asa Buck or Bobby Hanig. 

In 2019, Greg Murphy and Joan Perry were the top vote-getters in the 17-candidate party primary in April, with Murphy finishing first but falling short of the threshold to avoid a runoff. Eventually, Murphy would go onto win a seat in Congress, but wow, what a tough row to hoe that year. 

In other business, the nation is at war – no denying it. The first casualty in any war is the truth. FOX News presents a rosy picture, while CNN is more dour and negative. 

Thus, it’s probably best to get your news from a wide variety of sources to get a complete picture.

Moreover, there’s a lot of disinformation about there – I saw somewhere that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sustained heavy damage after being attacked by Iran. I remember thinking that’s going to “be a thing” so I looked into it. According to the Navy and other sources, the carrier was not attacked. 

What’s real – the Strait of Hormuz is closed, so oil prices are on the rise – $2.69 to $3.39 in less than a week – seems like the economy is perched on one leg at the edge of a cliff. If things don’t improve, gas prices will be the least of our worries.  

Right now, I’m glad I don’t live in a large city – places that may attract and support sleeper cells. 

Moreover, my gut tells me this war won’t be over in 20 minutes. Folks thought the same thing in 1861. 

According to the Washington Post, the Army recently canceled a training exercise for the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Though it’s speculation, our soldiers – many of them from Eastern NC – may need to pack their gear if the war with Iran widens. 

Here is Davis’ statement on U.S. Military Action in Iran:

Decades of appeasement of the radical, Islamic terrorist regime of Iran are over. Ayatollah Khamenei and his terrorist rulers, if allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, would never hesitate to use it against Israel, the United States, or any other country.

They have proven that life means nothing to them by recently killing thousands of their own people. President Trump and his administration have given Tehran every opportunity to negotiate peace, but, just like they have always done before, they have delayed and refused to cooperate to buy time to become a nuclear power. 

America cannot allow the cancerous threat of Islamic jihadi ideology to have such a devastating weapon to threaten the stability and security of our allies and the global community. These sentiments have been said previously by both Democrat and Republican Presidents. This should not be a partisan issue. 

I support this overdue action by President Trump and commend his strong record of delivering peace through strength. May God bless our troops and keep them safe.

Good for Davis — I wonder if he stayed planted in his seat or stood with the others during President Trump’s recent State of the Union Address.

As to the war, if we get done in the Middle East (as if), we’ll have to deal with China ahead, possibly in 2027, when an invasion of Taiwan is forecast.

And then there’s the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) so there’s that. 

Interesting times we live in – yep – so if you haven’t picked up your Bible in a while, maybe stop doom scrolling and read some Scripture.   

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Rowell’s Words: I’m Back!

By William Rowell

To quote Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie, The Shining, “I’m back”! Recently, my good friend and editor, Miles suggested that I return periodically with contributions. . It did not take long for me to say yes.

My last submission was published in May 2023. At the time, I feared reaching my limit and wanted to bow out before I could be run out.  As usual, I was wrong. It did not take long to miss sharing my random thoughts.  I also enjoyed meeting readers on the street and discussing recent columns and exchanging ideas. 

So, let’s start with me filling you in on what’s been going on in my world since then. If you think about it, it is relative to your age. When you go from 3 years old to 6 years of age, that is a big change. However, when that same individual goes from 80 years old to 83 it’s like going to sleep Wednesday night and waking up Thursday morning.

First. And foremost, I am still alive and active. Since we talked, my youngest granddaughter received her master’s from the University of Georgia and shortly after married a fine southern gentleman. The ceremony was held at a wedding chapel in the north Georgia Mountains. Everyone now ties the knot at a secluded and expensive wedding chapel.  Don’t the local churches do that anymore?

It was a wonderful time; however, in spite of a journey to and from a site that Daniel Boone could not find.  Honestly, we left the interstate and drove miles and miles through wooded mountains with no sign of civilization. After many miles of up, downs and curves we popped out into an open area and guess what the first thing we saw was?  Our wedding chapel?  Not even close.  It was a Dollar General! They are everywhere.

In addition to my newest Grandson-in-law, I have two new great-grandchildren since we last talked. The girl was born in February of 2025, and the boy was born on the same day in 2026. They have knocked my grandchildren down a notch, and my children are barely in the picture anymore. Just kidding! I love them all.

It does confuse an old timer like me however. Kids today are given Christian names that were once family names. My great-granddaughter’s given name is Harper, and the boy is Miles. Whatever happened to Susan, Emily, Janet, or Frank, Tommy, and Jimmy?  I must have missed something. 

That’s not surprising. I can name the starting lineup of most major league teams from the 1950’s and 1960, but can’t even name all the teams this season. I can still name my first girlfriend and tell you that she lived at 17 Raleigh Street. I won’t tell you when this was, but I will say Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House. 

Stop yourself from being impressed as this is the same person who can take seven steps into the kitchen and can’t remember why I went there. I just turn and go back where I was, and eventually it comes back. 

I admit my shortcomings, but take away this generation’s cell phone, and they are lost. I was recently at the DMV to change my address, and I counted 17 people in the waiting room. All but two were on their phones. The two exceptions were me and someone’s silver haired grandma. Are we a generation dependent upon artificial intelligence? Can you imagine the panic if we encountered a worldwide blackout? 

Thanks for letting me back into your life briefly. God Bless and have a great day.

Editor’s Note: I remember meeting William Rowell — lived at Albemarle Plantation way back when — good guy and great writer. He’s been on some adventures since then, so stay tuned to his occasional columns.

Western Frontier Justice Dispensed by Touring Judges and Bounty Hunters

By Keith Throckmorton

As a long-time law enforcement professional, I witnessed many changes, which inspired me to research law enforcement history.
I have always been a student of our history, Christian heritage, and law enforcement.  We learn the good and the bad from the past, which influences today’s society and our chosen profession.

Throughout my childhood, I remember watching a TV show, “Death Valley Days.” The show was sponsored by 20 Mule Team, “Borax.” Everything about the show reflected the “Wild West” days. “Death Valley Days” was an old-time radio and anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly in the Death Valley country of southeastern California.  Along with the criminal elements of the western frontier, the hot desert environment added additional challenges to living in this area.

Today, as a 40-year-plus law enforcement officer, I think about the “Wild West,” my thoughts are immediately focused on a scorched desert where cowboys, sheriffs, and bandits shelter from the Sun in saloons with swinging doors. There they sit drinking whiskey, eyeing each other suspiciously, their twitching fingers hovering by the revolver pistol strapped to their waist, all ready for a mass gunfight at a moment’s notice.

Money and violence ruled in the “Wild West.”

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms. But, if anything is to be learned, it’s that American citizens in the American frontier west existed without established law enforcement. Instead, the citizens of this period were left to take the law into their own hands. Their ability to play judge, jury, and executioner led to a unique and dangerous form of justice. 

As towns and populations grew in frontier western communities, the crime rate soared with the booming population.  Saloon brawls and gunfights all became familiar. Moreover, many territories’ settlements passed judgments without a structured law system; corruption was alive and well.

Eventually, the more established jurisdictions employed sheriffs and marshals to keep the peace.  These peace officers would lock up drunkards and other aggressors and track down more notorious outlaws with the assistance of citizens. Thus, to attract these “Bounty Hunters,” the law officers used “Wanted Posters” that promised a handsome monetary reward for the capture of a fugitive, “dead or alive.” Famous outlaws were worth significant amounts of money. Jesse James, for example, was worth $5,000, which was a large sum of money for the time.

If taken alive, the captured outlaws stood in front of touring judges from neighboring regions to deliver justice. These judges were quite different from the judges of today.   Court trials were informal. Resting their feet on a desk, carving, and chewing tobacco were acceptable behaviors for presiding judges. Bizarre practices did not end there.  Wealthy defendants were often fined if convicted of a crime on the western frontier, where money was scarce. On at least one occasion, the guilty party paid in warm clothing for the judge and marshal.  Money and violence ruled the “Wild West.”

Bounty Hunters in the “Wild West” were a prosperous and respected profession.

In 1872, the Supreme Court ruled that bounty hunters were part of the U.S. Law enforcement system with a decision in Taylor v. Taintor:
When the bail is given, the principal is regarded as delivered to the custody of his sureties.  Their domain is a continuation of the original imprisonment. Whenever they choose to do so, they may seize him and deliver him up to his discharge; and if it cannot be done at once, they may imprison him until it can be done. They may exercise their rights in person or by agent. They may pursue him into another state; may arrest him on the Sabbath; and, if necessary, may break his house for that purpose. The seizure is not made by virtue of due process. None is needed. It is likened to the arrest by the sheriff of an escaped prisoner.”

By this decision, bounty hunters did not have to adhere to the same rules of due process that sheriffs and other law enforcement officials must follow.

Many county sheriffs and town marshals supplemented their insufficient incomes with bounties. But, of course, they had to follow the rules of due process, while a bounty hunter had no such restrictions. However, if there was no one around for a couple of hundred miles, who would know? This is part of how the West was tamed.  Many law enforcement officers straddled the fence between law enforcement and lawbreaking.

In the “Wild West,” the bounty was half of the wanted poster amount if the prisoner died before making it to jail.  Bounty hunters did not receive their reward earnings until later.  When a prisoner was brought in, the bounty hunter would have to wait or take the money to a bank.

One of the most excellent bounty hunters was Pinkerton Detective Charlie Siringo (1855-1928). He had a long and distinguished, if not controversial, career. However, Siringo had nerves of steel, and his cleverness got him out of more than one jam.

In 1886, Siringo was employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency.  For the next 22 years, he lived an adventurous life chasing criminals across the West, infiltrating outlaw gangs and labor unions. In addition, Siringo served as a bodyguard for high-profile clients. He retired from the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1907.

Law enforcement in the “Wild West” was different from that of today. Nevertheless, much can be learned from the history of any profession, and it makes us better at what we do today.

Keith Throckmorton, Fairfax County Police (Retired, Chaplain, Columnist, Virginia State Police Alumni and North Carolina Sheriffs Association), Hertford, NC

Currituck tax case raises interesting questions for top NC court

By Mitch Kokai

Carolina Journal

North Carolina’s highest court will decide in the months ahead whether one county violated state law when spending occupancy tax money on law enforcement and emergency services.

How the North Carolina Supreme Court decides the case might be just as important as the ruling the court ultimately makes.

The General Assembly first gave Currituck County power to levy an occupancy tax in 1987. State lawmakers amended Currituck’s occupancy tax authority in 2004.

The case Costanzo v. Currituck County asks the state Supreme Court to decide whether the 2004 amendment tied local occupancy tax proceeds directly to promoting local tourism.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled against the county in March 2024. The Supreme Court chose the Costanzo case for its first oral argument of this year on Feb. 17.

Currituck County argues that the 2004 law gave commissioners discretion to label particular government expenses as “tourism-related.”

“In this case, the legislature specifically chose to use a word here — ‘judgment’ — to give the county broad authority on how to use this money,” argued Christopher Geis, representing Currituck commissioners.

Critics respond that the 2004 law limited commissioners’ discretion.

“The county then ignored the change in the law,” Troy Shelton argued on behalf of plaintiffs challenging Currituck’s actions. “The Court of Appeals saw what happened exactly for what it was. The county’s been breaking the law, and it needs to stop.”

It would be unwise to read too much into questions Supreme Court justices posed to Geis and Shelton during oral arguments. Justices might have been testing legal theories for holes rather than signaling their own thoughts about the case’s outcome.

Yet the range of questions suggests justices could approach their ruling in multiple ways.

Justice Phil Berger Jr. suggested that the judicial branch might not be the proper venue for deciding whether county commissioners’ occupancy tax choices were reasonable.

“Why shouldn’t the question of reasonableness be for either the legislature or the voters and not the courts?” Berger asked.

Justice Trey Allen focused attention on the text of the local occupancy tax law.

“You can’t say on the face of it… that it excludes law enforcement,” Allen said. “Accordingly, I would think that we would interpret it broadly.”

Both questions point toward a conclusion that could favor Currituck commissioners. On the other hand, Justice Tamara Barringer raised a concern about the county’s decision-making process.

Commissioners placed the money in Currituck’s general fund. Sitting instead as the county’s Tourism Development Authority, the same officials could have made a more transparent decision linking occupancy tax dollars to specific tourism-related expenses. The TDA could have cited law enforcement or emergency services during its deliberations.

“If this board or authority actually made those expenditures, I don’t think we would be in the position we’re in now: speculating about whether there was judgment done and whether it was rational,” Barringer said. “That’s the friction point for me.”

Justice Richard Dietz focused on the proof Currituck County must offer to win the dispute with taxpayers. He outlined three possible options.

The least restrictive for the county government would be a “rational basis” review. Under that standard, courts would presume that the county commissioners’ decision complied with the law. Critics of occupancy tax spending would face the burden of showing that spending tourism dollars on public safety or emergency services was “irrational.”

A second, more restrictive option for Currituck’s defense would require the county to produce evidence after the fact showing that commissioners had debated the links between tourism and the challenged spending. The most restrictive option would require the county to produce meeting minutes or other evidence detailing commissioners’ use of their “judgment” at the time of their occupancy tax decisions.

Dietz characterized the county’s argument as choosing the second option. County commissioners’ critics argued that the most restrictive option would be more appropriate.

“What’s the rationale for saying it should be that higher standard rather than just rational basis review?” Justice Anita Earls asked after Dietz mentioned his three alternatives.

Chief Justice Paul Newby focused on the case’s bottom line. “If you were to prevail, what remedy are you seeking?” he asked Shelton.

Critics are pursuing a declaration that occupancy tax funds were “misappropriated,” an injunction against future misuse of funds, and restoration of misused funds for tourism-related items, Shelton responded.

State Supreme Court justices have signaled very different ways to approach the Costanzo plaintiffs’ request. The approach they take and the decision they make could set a significant precedent for future local government tax disputes in North Carolina.

Mitch Kokai is senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation.