This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on November 16, 2021. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
Brittany Bromell
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (September 7, 2021)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 7, 2021. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
An Overview of 2021 Criminal Law Legislation
Each year the School of Government summarizes legislation enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly affecting criminal law and procedure and motor vehicle laws. We also explore selected legislation in more depth on this blog. Most criminal law legislation has an effective date of December 1 to allow the courts to prepare for the changes. What follows is a brief summary of the criminal law and related legislation with earlier effective dates enacted thus far during the 2021 legislative session. It isn’t everything the legislature has done, and by no means is it everything you need to know.
Case Summaries – N.C. Supreme Court (August 13, 2021)
This post summarizes criminal decisions released by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on August 13, 2021.
New Publication on Computer Crimes
I’m happy to announce that I recently finished an Administration of Justice Bulletin about computer-related crimes. It is a substantial expansion of my recent blog posts on the subject, providing an overview of how the statutes have been applied and some criminal scenarios that may fall within their purview. The bulletin is available here as … Read more
New Criminal Provision Prohibiting the Possession of Skimming Devices
The North Carolina legislature recently passed S.L. 2021-68 which amends the existing financial transaction card theft statute to include knowingly possessing, selling, or delivering a skimming device.
Case Summaries – U.S. Supreme Court (June 1-3, 2021)
This post summarizes decisions released by the United States Supreme Court on June 1, 2021 and June 3, 2021. These summaries, written by Shea Denning and Brittany Williams, will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (June 1, 2021)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on June 1, 2021. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
“Authorization” in the Context of Computer Crimes
I previously wrote a blog post about North Carolina’s computer-related crime statutes. Two of our computer crimes are accessing computers under G.S. 14-454 and accessing government computers under G.S. 14-454.1. Both statutes prohibit willfully accessing computers for the purpose of committing fraud or obtaining property or services by false pretenses. Both statutes also prohibit unauthorized access to computers, regardless of fraudulent intent. G.S. 14-453 defines authorization as having the consent or permission of the owner—or of the person licensed or authorized by the owner to grant consent or permission—to access a computer, computer system, or computer network in a manner not exceeding the consent or permission. I’ve gotten several questions recently about the scope of unauthorized access under these statutes, and today’s post examines how these laws may be applied.
An Introduction to North Carolina Computer Crimes
By now, we’re all aware of last week’s crisis that caused people to hurry to the pumps and fill up on gas. If not, here’s the news: a hacker group launched a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, a company that operates pipelines for gasoline, causing shortages of gas and panic buying on the east coast. Most likely, any criminal action against the group will happen at the federal level, but this post highlights relevant North Carolina laws that could apply if this or any similar acts are prosecuted within this jurisdiction.