Retired Rowan County judge leads NC Sentencing Commission as host for national conference

RALEIGH — Under the leadership of retired Rowan County Chief District Court Judge Charlie Brown, the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission will host the National Association of Sentencing Commissions’ Conference (NASC) in Raleigh.

“This is the first time that North Carolina has served as host state of the NASC conference,” said Brown, chairman of the commission. “I am excited to bring together commission members and stakeholders from around the country to see the important work the North Carolina Sentencing Commission is doing and to learn about what is occurring in other jurisdictions.”

Appointed in 2023 by Gov. Roy Cooper as an emergency judge, Brown now presides in District Court in Rowan and Cabarrus counties and other jurisdictions around the state.

The national conference will be held Aug. 6-8 at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. The NASC is a non-profit organization created to facilitate the exchange and sharing of information, ideas, data, expertise and experiences and to provide education on issues related to sentencing policies, guidelines and commissions. Every year, the NASC conference draws judges, legislators, correctional officials, policy makers, academics, researchers and practitioners from around the country to examine sentencing laws and practices nationwide and to discuss emerging issues and innovations.

The theme of the 2024 conference is a 30-year retrospective to understand the role of commissions in sentencing reform through the years. Ryan Boyce, director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, will kick off the conference with opening remarks. The agenda features sessions on a variety of topics including the contributions of sentencing commissions to the criminal justice system over more than three decades, as well as the different degrees of discretion among states with sentencing guideline systems. Conference attendees will also discuss sentencing practices, including the examination of disparate impact and the use of criminal history in sentencing. They will consider appropriate uses for technology in sentencing and how commissions can have a role in the juvenile justice system.

“The Sentencing Commission has always been a great partner and asset to the court system,” Boyce said. “This conference gives the Judicial Branch an opportunity to showcase that partnership, as well as the state of North Carolina.”

NASC membership is open to anyone who works for or serves on a sentencing policy agency, as well as anyone else in the public, academic, or private sectors who is interested in sentencing.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit NASC’s website. View the full conference agenda .

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