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Immigration Consequences of DV Offenses: Stalking and Violation of DVPOs

Last week, in the first part of this two-part series, I talked about the “crime of domestic violence” ground of deportability for noncitizens and what role convictions of North Carolina offenses play in triggering that ground. This post covers immigration consequences of the “stalking” and “violation of protection orders” grounds of deportability.

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Same Sex Marriage and Domestic Violence

Same sex marriage has been permitted in North Carolina for a couple of weeks. Shea blogged here about one potential criminal law implication: the possibility, discussed in a memorandum from the Administrative Office of the Courts, that magistrates could be charged criminally for refusing to marry same-sex couples. As noted in this recent news article, a number of magistrates have resigned as a result. But the issue I’ve been asked most about is how same-sex marriage relates to our domestic violence laws.

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Avoiding Criminal Charges by Not Coming to Court

Not showing up for court is, generally speaking, bad trial strategy.  In criminal court, such behavior can result in such unpleasantness as entry of an order for arrest and the revocation of one’s driver’s license.  In civil court, a defendant’s failure to respond can result in a default judgment for the entire sum claimed by … Read more

Court of Appeals Upholds Validity of Ex Parte DVPOs

Background. In State v. Byrd, 363 N.C. 214 (2009), the state supreme court concluded that an ex parte domestic violence protective order, or DVPO, was not a “valid protective order” for purposes of the sentencing enhancement under G.S. 50B-4.1(d). (As explained in this prior post about Byrd, the enhancement provides that a felony that also … Read more

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Is Kenton Retroactive?

In a post here, Jeff wrote about the N.C. Court of Appeals decision in Kenton v. Kenton, holding that a consent domestic violence protective order (DVPO) lacking any finding that the defendant committed an act of domestic violence was void ab initio. As it turns out, a number of district court judges have been entering … Read more

Consent DVPOs without Findings of Fact Are Void ab Initio

The court of appeals recently decided Kenton v. Kenton, a civil case of major significance for criminal lawyers. In a nutshell, a wife sought a domestic violence protective order (DVPO) against her husband. A district court judge entered a consent DVPO, finding that “[t]he parties agree to entry of this order without express findings of … Read more

State v. Byrd and Violations of DVPOs

I thought that I might blog today about the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, but they’ve been thoroughly dull. The only piece I’ve seen that makes them seem even a little bit interesting is this one, which I understand to be written by a liberal commentator unimpressed with the judge. Fortunately, my colleague John Rubin rescued me … Read more