Recent blog posts

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to allow review in a case asking whether the U.S. Constitution permits a defendant to be convicted by a jury of fewer than twelve. […]

In a pair of recent cases, the North Carolina Court of Appeals addressed jurisdictional issues related to the prosecution of misdemeanors and the adjudication of infractions in superior court. In […]

If a person has a felony conviction, then gets it expunged, may the conviction nonetheless be used as a prior conviction to support a habitual felon charge? No reported appellate […]

This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during May of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]

Shea covered the recent escapes of two inmates from the Vance County Detention Center. On the lam since June 3, the pair were apprehended without incident on Tuesday this week […]

Darcy lives in North Carolina. Upon learning about an upcoming music festival in California, Darcy creates realistic, high-quality digital replicas of the festival’s VIP wristband passes and PDF tickets. She […]

A defendant who claims self-defense may offer evidence of the victim’s prior violent conduct, if known to the defendant, to demonstrate the reasonableness of the defendant’s fear of the victim. […]

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on June 3, 2026. (1) The State lacks authority to appeal a district court’s verbal […]

By now, most people in the North Carolina indigent defense community know that Mary Pollard, the executive director of the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS), has decided […]

The week began with the report of the capture in Mount Airy of an armed fugitive wanted for murder. Michael Puckett is accused of killing one Virginia sheriff’s deputy and […]