WILMINGTON, N.C. -- North Carolina's top judge discussed the state of the justice system on Friday at the North Carolina Bar Association's annual meeting in Wilmington.

In a room full lawyers and judges, Chief Justice Mark Martin outlined a number of issues including human trafficking and school safety.

Martin spoke about accomplishments like the rise in lawyers performing pro bono legal work. He also highlighted the Raise the Age legislation which ended the practice of charging 16 and 17 year olds with minor offenses as adults.

"For the young people that we can turn around and make a part of society where they can serve in our military where they can go to college and better themselves and better society. We want to help those young people and that's exactly what this legislation will do," said Chief Justice Martin.

Martin also discussed the importance of the 30 drug courts across the state and their need for funding to continue tackling the opioid crisis.

 

Get the latest news, sports and weather delivered straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts.