This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during September 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here.
Phil Dixon
News Roundup
The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Ghislaine Maxwell’s convictions for sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes this week, according to SCOTUSblog. Maxwell, the longtime partner and co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison. The denial marks the end of Maxwell’s hopes for relief on direct appeal. On the Second Amendment front, the Court recently agreed to hear a challenge to Hawaii’s criminal prohibition on carrying concealed handguns on private property without express authorization by the property owner. The Ninth Circuit previously upheld the law. The Court declined to review a decision of the Eighth Circuit striking down Missouri’s law forbidding state law enforcement officials from enforcing federal gun rules that state officials believe violate the Second Amendment, as noted here (a deeper analysis of the case is here for those interested). Read on for more criminal law news.
News Roundup
For the third week, federal forces continue to perform law enforcement duties in the District of Columbia pursuant to President Trump’s efforts to combat an alleged epidemic of crime there. This is despite the Department of Justice’s data indicating that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has instructed federal prosecutors to seek the highest possible charges against arrestees and to attempt to hold arrestees in pretrial detention. Some law enforcement encounters have raised questions about their legality, with a local U.S. Magistrate Judge recently describing one case as involving “the most illegal search I’ve ever seen in my life,” according to this report. Separately, the executive branch has announced plans to similarly deploy federal law enforcement in other cities like Chicago and New York, according to this story. Read on for more criminal law news.
New Crime of Exposing a Child to Controlled Substances and Other 2025 Drug Law Changes
As regular readers know, the General Assembly passed a slew of statutes affecting our criminal law this summer, including controlled substances law. In S.L. 2025-70 (S.B. 429), the legislature created the new offense of exposing a child to a controlled substance. The same session law increased the penalties for most fentanyl offenses. With S.L. 2025-71 (S.B. 311), the legislature created several new crimes addressing the unauthorized possession or distribution of embalming fluid. These changes all become effective December 1, 2025. Read on for the details.
New Free Webinar Friday on Recovery Courts and the Role of Defense Counsel
In case you missed it, I wanted to remind folks that the Public Defense Education team here, with support from the Office of Indigent Defense Services, is proud to offer a new webinar, Recovery Courts: An Overview for Defenders. Recovery courts (also known as treatment courts) have long played an important role in the criminal … Read more
COA Shuts Down Second Amendment Challenges to Firearm by Felon
Back in February, the Court of Appeals decided State v. Nanes, COA24-487, ___ N.C. App. ___; 912 S.E.2d 202 (Feb. 19, 2025) (summarized here). The case considered and ultimately rejected facial and as-applied Second Amendment challenges to G.S. 14-415.1, our state prohibition on possession of firearms by a felon. Nanes squarely rejected the idea that G.S. 14-415.1 was facially unconstitutional but left open the possibility that the statute may be unconstitutional as applied to a different defendant. In State v. Ducker, COA24-373, ___ N.C. App. ___ ; ___ S.E.2d ___(May 7, 2025) (summarized here), the Court of Appeals closed the door on that possibility, ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to convicted felons and rejecting the need for a felony-by-felony analysis for as-applied Second Amendment challenges. Both Nanes and Ducker also considered and rejected related claims under Article I, Sec. 30 of the North Carolina Constitution. Today’s post examines these decisions.
News Roundup
One of the top stories this week was the announcement by the Department of Justice that they intend to recommend a one-day, time-served sentence for former Louisville, Kentucky police officer, Brett Hankison. Hankinson was tried and convicted in federal court for using excessive force in violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights. Taylor was killed by police officers after they executed a no-knock search warrant around midnight on March 13, 2020. Taylor’s romantic partner mistook the officers for intruders and fired a shot, wounding one of the officers. Officers then collectively fired 22 shots, resulting in Taylor’s death. Although no shots fired by Hankinson hit Taylor, he fired ten times through a glass door and a window, and three of the shots entered an adjacent apartment occupied by another family. Hankinson’s conviction carries a maximum sentence of life, and his presentence report recommends a sentence of between 11- and 14-years imprisonment. The Justice Department contends that the felony conviction, lost firearms rights, and lost ability to work as a law enforcement officer is punishment enough, given that Hankinson did not injure anyone and was returning fire. Read on for more criminal law news.