Judge Expected to Rule in NC Racial Justice Case A North Carolina judge is expected to issue a precedent-setting ruling in the first case under a state law that lets death row prisoners challenge their sentences if they think race was a significant factor. Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks is expected to announce his ruling Friday in Fayetteville in the case of Marcus Robinson, who's black. His lawyers argued earlier this year that race was a factor in prosecution decisions to reject black potential jurors. The judge would sentence Robinson to life in prison if he finds race played a significant factor in the sentence. The state's 2009 Racial Justice Act allows death row prisoners and capital murder defendants to use statistics and other evidence to show racial bias played a significant role in prosecutors' decisions or their sentences.