Phil Dixon, Author at North Carolina Criminal Law

New Video on Working with Experts

November 16, 2021 Phil Dixon

I’m pleased to announce a new collaboration between the Public Defense Education team at the School of Government and Indigent Defense Services. I frequently get questions from defense lawyers about expert witnesses. Where do you find experts? How do you know which expert is right for your case? How do you go about getting funding … Read more

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Sept. 2021)

October 21, 2021 Phil Dixon

This post summarizes criminal and related decisions published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during September 2021. Decisions that may be interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here.

Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Oct. 19, 2021)

October 19, 2021 Phil Dixon

This post summarizes criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals published on October 19, 2021. Summaries will also be posted to Smith’s Case Compendium, here.

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (August 2021)

September 21, 2021 Phil Dixon

This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals released during August 2021 that may be of interest to state practitioners. Previous Fourth Circuit summaries are available on the SOG website here. Summaries are also emailed to subscribers of the SOG criminal law listserv.

Delta-8 THC (and beyond)

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021 Phil Dixon

Cannabis news abounds: Virginia legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and up this year; our General Assembly has been considering a medicinal marijuana bill (S.B. 711); the Court of Appeals recently acknowledged (but did not decide) that precedent on the odor of marijuana as probable cause and on visual identification of the substance “may need to be re-examined” in light of legal hemp. State v. Parker, ___ N.C. App. ___, 860 S.E.2d 21, 29 (2021) (more on those issues here). I will write about the still-evolving issues with marijuana prosecutions in the state again soon. Today, though, I want to focus delta-8 THC. What is it? Is it legal? If so, how? Turns out the first question is simpler than the rest.

New Online CLE based on Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws of Forensics

August 24, 2021 Phil Dixon

A new book by Brandon Garrett is a deep dive into the misuse of forensic evidence in criminal courtrooms. To borrow from its description, Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws of Forensics “is the first book to catalog the sources of error and the faulty science behind a range of well-known forensic evidence, from fingerprints and firearms to forensic algorithms.” Professor Garrett has also recorded video lectures to accompany the information in the book. Together with Indigent Defense Services and the SOG, we are pleased to announce a new online CLE course based on the book and video series. Read on for more details.

Case Summaries – Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (July 2021)

August 17, 2021 Phil Dixon

This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals released during July 2021 which may be of interest to state practitioners. Summaries are also emailed to subscribers of the SOG criminal law listserv. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit decisions are available on the SOG website, here.