Floods have gripped the nation. From Texas, to New Mexico, to here in central North Carolina, severe floods have taken lives and devastated communities. In Texas, floods have killed over 120 people statewide, with over 160 still missing. Due to substantial damage, recovery efforts have slowed, signaling a long road ahead for those with missing loved ones. In New Mexico, flash flooding on Tuesday killed three people and severely damaged the mountain community of Ruidoso—which just spent a year recovering from devastating wildfires and flooding in 2024. Locally, tropical storm Chantal brought heavy flooding across five counties on Sunday evening, taking six lives. Thunderstorms and flooding have continued through the week, striking Durham on Wednesday and multiple counties last night. For those affected, click here for shelter options, water notices, and other flood relief resources. Local businesses and charities are also leading the way in collecting and distributing donations. Read on for the latest in criminal law news.
Driver’s license renewal grace period extended. Drivers with licenses expiring July 1, 2025 or later may continue driving past their expiration dates until December 31, 2027. Governor Josh Stein signed the temporary moratorium into law earlier this month. After experiencing a rush of customers due to the TSA’s requirement for the use of a “Real ID” for air travel going into effect in May, the DMV has focused on improving its processes and customer experience. These improvements include revising its website and adding weekend walk-in hours through August 23. Notably, this grace period only applies to driving: expired licenses will not be valid for any other purpose, including identification, bank loans, car rentals, filling prescriptions, or having documents notarized. The moratorium also does not apply to commercial driver’s licenses or any licenses that are otherwise suspended, revoked, or cancelled.
Variety of criminal law changes signed into law. Governor Stein signed additional criminal law legislation into law this week. SB 311 enhances current sentencing rules for picketing, burglary, package theft, reckless driving, street racing, shoplifting, and more. It also creates a new offense of larceny of a gift-card, and provides for additional regulation of embalming fluids. In the world of impaired driving, it adds a mitigating factor for the voluntary pretrial use of an ignition interlock device in certain cases. SB 429 makes changes to the rules for filing motions for appropriate relief, increases the amount of time for victims to apply for restitution, enacts harsher penalties for people convicted of sex offenses and secret peeping, and repeals a crime that made it illegal for people to not financially support their parents in times of need, among other provisions. Stay tuned to the blog to learn more as our various faculty members address changes in their areas of expertise.
N.C. prisons to be air conditioned by the end of 2026. In 2021, North Carolina lawmakers allocated $30 million to enhance older prison buildings by installing air conditioning. It involved upgrading more than 100 buildings (with more than 12,000 beds) that were not air conditioned at the time. Brad Deen, spokesperson for the Department of Adult Correction, said the project has since received additional funding, bringing the total budget $92.7 million. According to Deen, about twenty percent of the state’s total prison capacity do not currently have air conditioning, and that work is underway to bring air conditioning to all prison living spaces by the end of 2026. “The NC Department of Adult Correction recognizes that heat can be a serious health and safety issue for everyone — our staff and the people in our custody alike — and we do all we can to keep people comfortable in hot weather,” Deen said.
Sean Combs sentencing date set. Last week, Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation for prostitution. The verdict came after an eight-week trial including charges of running a criminal enterprise that facilitated and concealed sexual abuse. After the verdict, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail, keeping Combs in custody until sentencing—now set for October 3. By then, Combs will have been in jail for over a year. The time he has spent in custody will be credited to whatever sentence he receives. For both counts, Combs faces a maximum of twenty years in prison. Further effects of the past few years reportedly include Hulu terminating a proposed reality series, Howard University revoking his honorary degree, the city of New York taking back a key to the city, and eighteen brands severing ties with Combs.
Woman convicted of murder by poison. In a case that captivated a continent, an Australian woman was convicted of murdering members of her ex-husband’s family by poisoning. Erin Patterson, 50, invited her ex-husband and members of his family to dinner in 2023. Although her estranged husband declined to attend, his parents, his aunt, and his aunt’s husband did attend. Patterson served them beef wellington, a dish consisting of beef tenderloin, coated with mushrooms and shallots, wrapped in puff pastry. Within a week, the ex-husband’s parents and aunt died, and the fourth guest fell critically ill, all showing symptoms of poisoning by death cap mushrooms. Following the lunch, Patterson disposed of the dehydrator she used to dry the mushrooms, lied to the police about doing so, and factory re-set her phone multiple times. The case and trial garnered incredible interest, with news outlets reporting daily on every detail, and three podcasts devoted to the trial, each with hundreds of thousands of listeners. Patterson now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, although sentencing has not been scheduled yet.
Slow and steady catches a case. In the early morning hours of July 1st in Nashville, TN, law enforcement found Katlyn Wray, 28, asleep behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle. After they woke her up, she put the car in reverse, struck two police vehicles, and fled. During the pursuit, police deployed spike strips at two locations which flattened all four of the vehicle’s tires. Undeterred, Wray continued to flee at speeds between 8 and 15 miles per hour. This went on for nearly four hours before law enforcement forcefully stopped the vehicle. A key factor to why the chase went on for so long appears to be the timing—with fewer other people on the road between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., the safety concern to the public was minimal. Retired Metro Nashville Police Department officer Ken Alexandrow was interviewed, and said “they want to use the least amount of force possible to affect that arrest . . . If that same pursuit happened in the middle of the day at rush hour or in a high pedestrian area like Broadway in downtown Nashville, it would instantly be terminated.”