blank

The Duties and Discretionary Power of District Attorneys

Jonathan wrote last month about reform-minded sheriffs in North Carolina and the actions they can and cannot take with respect to enforcement of federal immigration laws. Reform-minded prosecutors also have been in the news of late. Prosecutors in St. Louis and Kansas City announced last year their plans not to prosecute marijuana possession cases, subject … Read more

blank

News Roundup

Trial began this week in Virginia for Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign who has been charged with a variety of crimes unrelated to the campaign.  Manafort’s current trial involves charges of bank fraud, money laundering, lobbying disclosure violations, and obstruction of justice, with the alleged offenses largely stemming from … Read more

News Roundup

The headline news this week is that the General Assembly has agreed on a budget, and Governor McCrory has signed it. It is here. Among other provisions, it moves the SBI from the Attorney General’s office to DPS (section 17.1); requires much of the information in attorney fee applications to be made publicly available online … Read more

News Roundup

A North Carolina judge made the national news recently because of the sentence she imposed on a young woman who pled guilty to being drunk and disruptive and to resisting an officer. Halifax County Chief District Court Judge Brenda Branch gave 21-year-old Tonie Marie King a suspended sentence and ordered her to write a two-page … Read more

News Roundup

It was a short week, but not a slow week. Here in North Carolina, the News and Observer has this story describing the increase in post-release supervision resulting from the Justice Reinvestment Act, and noting the lack of any additional supervising officers to handle the influx. Officers’ caseloads are way up, and the Division of … Read more

News Roundup

I’ve been traveling a fair bit lately, which made me especially receptive to this story about things the TSA has found on air passengers or in their luggage this year. To sum up: “Things like guns and bombs aren’t enough anymore, the TSA finds grenade launchers, venomous snakes, gassed up chainsaws and more.” Also a … Read more

News Roundup

The top story of the week is the controversy surrounding the new ban on electronic sweepstakes.  I posted about it yesterday, and after my initial post, the Attorney General issued an opinion letter regarding the situation, and announced his intention to appeal a superior court judge’s ruling that held part of the law unconstitutional.  But … Read more

News Roundup

Well, today is Constitution Day. According to 36 U.S.C. § 106, “[t]he civil and educational authorities of States, counties, cities, and towns are urged to make plans for the proper observance of Constitution Day . . . and for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens.” The law school here … Read more

News Roundup

Lots of interesting developments in the news recently. The Tar Heels won another women’s soccer national championship, and the United States finally got a favorable draw for the World Cup. Oops, wrong kind of news. Anyhow, recent criminal law happenings include: 1. Wired magazine reports that one-third of young people engage in “sexting,” a behavior … Read more

Evidentiary Issues in Sex Crimes Cases

I recently completed an Administration of Justice Bulletin on evidentiary issues in sex crimes cases. It’s available for free here. It covers the application of N.C. R. Evid. 412, i.e., the rape shield rule, as well as the application of N.C. Rule Ev. 404(b) as it relates to evidence of prior sexual misconduct by the … Read more