A man is scheduled to be executed by firing squad this evening, which would be the first firing squad execution in the United States in the last 15 years. On Wednesday, Brad Sigmon’s final appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court was denied. In South Carolina, death row inmates may choose between firing squad, lethal injection, and electrocution. Sigmon said he felt forced to choose execution by firing squad over lethal injection because of a lack of information about the drugs used and the “fear of a tortuous death.” He also said he didn’t choose electrocution because he didn’t want to suffer “by being cooked alive.” Sigmon’s attorneys attempted to delay the execution to get a fuller hearing in court to learn more information about the drugs used in lethal injection, but their request was denied. Sigmon plans to ask Governor Henry McMaster for his sentence to be commuted, although no South Carolina governor has granted clemency since the death penalty restarted in 1976. Read on for more criminal law news.
Belal Elrahal
Motor Vehicle Seizures: Temporary Release Pending Trial
In previous posts, I’ve addressed the expedited scheduling requirements and opportunities for permanent release of motor vehicles seized pursuant to G.S. 20-28.3. Today, I’ll address the ways a motor vehicle may be released temporarily pending trial or final disposition of the underlying offense. Generally speaking, this temporary release permits a motor vehicle owner to obtain temporary possession of the vehicle conditioned on meeting certain prerequisites and agreeing to return the motor vehicle on the day of the forfeiture hearing. Read on for more.
Pretrial Release of Seized Motor Vehicles
In every case where a person is charged with felony speeding to elude arrest pursuant to G.S. 20-141.5(b) or (b1), the motor vehicle driven is subject to seizure and forfeiture. This is also true in DWI cases where, at the date of offense, the defendant’s driver’s license was revoked for an impaired driving revocation or the defendant did not have a valid license nor insurance. When in district court, these cases have expedited calendaring requirements (discussed here). This is in part to preserve the vehicle’s value while the case is pending. Upon seizure, the vehicle is usually first towed to a local storage facility, then transferred to the facilities of a state contractor within a few days. There are fees for towing, as well as accruing fees for storage. Whether the motor vehicle is released to its owner, a lienholder, or forfeited to the county board of education, these towing and storage fees must be paid. Often, these fees are paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the vehicle. While expediting the underlying case towards resolution is one way to minimize these fees, another is release of the vehicle before case disposition. This post addresses the circumstances under which a vehicle may be fully released pretrial and does not have to be brought back for a later forfeiture hearing.
News Roundup
This morning, President Biden announced that he will commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses. The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would have under current law and practice. Over the past two decades, Congress has passed legislation to rectify sentencing disparities and practices that disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, such as the now-discredited distinction between crack and powder cocaine. In his statement, Biden said “as Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time we equalize these sentencing disparities.” The commutations are the latest use of clemency power by President Biden, following the full pardon of his son Hunter, commuting the sentences of nearly all federal death row prisoners, and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals moved to home confinement during the pandemic. Read on for more criminal law news.
Calendaring Offenses Involving Seized Motor Vehicles
Law enforcement has authority to seize a person’s motor vehicle in several circumstances. Motor vehicles may be seized as evidence of a crime or for containing evidence of a crime, or as a consequence of being charged with certain offenses, including specified drug offenses, larcenies, and motor vehicle offenses. For some individuals charged with impaired driving or felony speeding to elude arrest, their vehicles may be seized and are subject to forfeiture pursuant to G.S. 20-28.3. In these cases, subsection (m) requires expedited scheduling and imposes additional requirements before the case can be continued. This post examines when subsection (m) applies, what it requires, and what may happen if it’s not followed.
There’s a New King in Town – Finding DWI Aggravating Factors
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004) that any contested fact that increases the defendant’s sentence beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to the jury and found beyond a reasonable doubt. Shortly thereafter, the General Assembly amended G.S. 20-179 to require judges in superior court cases to submit contested aggravating factors during impaired driving sentencing to the jury. Practically, this means that after a person is found guilty of impaired driving, if they are contesting properly alleged aggravating factors, there must be a sentencing hearing before the jury to determine any aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The North Carolina Supreme Court considered in State v. King, ___ N.C. ___, 906 S.E.2d 808 (2024) what happens if a judge finds contested aggravating factors without submitting them to the jury.
News Roundup
After serving 30 years in prison for killing her two sons, Susan Smith appeared Wednesday before a parole board in South Carolina to ask for her freedom. Smith made international news in 1994 when she claimed she was carjacked by a black man who drove away with her two sons in the car. For nine days, Smith and her husband appeared on national television asking for her children to be returned to her. It was later discovered that she was having an affair with the wealthy son of her employer, and that her paramour blamed her children as the reason they could not be together. Smith ultimately confessed to letting her car roll down a boat ramp and into a lake with her two sons secured inside. After hearing from Smith, her ex-husband, his family members, prosecutors, and law enforcement, the parole board denied her request. She is now eligible to appear before the parole board every two years. Read on for more criminal law news.
License Plate Readers, Highway Pilot Program, and New Offense
A few months ago, I wrote about Session Law 2023-151 providing for new sentencing enhancements for breaking or entering motor vehicles and other conveyances. Another part of the bill, Part V, authorizes a pilot program for placing and using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) on “state rights-of-way.” It also adds G.S. 20-183.33 to Article 3D of Chapter 20, making it a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyone to obtain, access, preserve, or disclose data collected by ALPRs in any manner other than that allowed by the Article. The readers are already in use across much of the state, so what will the effect be of the pilot program? And what are the implications of criminalizing the unlawful access or mishandling of data collected? Read on for more.
News Roundup
Our hearts remain with the communities in Western North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene. On Wednesday, lawmakers unanimously passed “The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024” allocating $273 million to meet immediate needs and begin the recovery process. The bill also contains provisions for a recovery fund for Brunswick County and the Carolina Beach area after major flooding during a storm in September, and a similar fund for Rocky Mount to assist with recovery after a tornado caused by Helene damaged buildings and caused injuries. Notable provisions of the bill expand eligibility for serving as a volunteer poll worker and for submitting absentee ballots, and authorize the Governor to waive certain DMV fees, such as duplicate license/identification card fees and late fees for motor vehicle registration renewals. Additionally, the bill temporarily extends the deadline for preliminary hearings for post-release supervision and parole violations once a supervisee has been arrested from seven to twenty-one working days. Governor Roy Cooper signed the bill into law Thursday morning. Read on for more criminal law news.
Navigating Autonomous Vehicle Technology and the Law
In 2017, the General Assembly ratified S.L. 2017-166 regulating “fully autonomous vehicles” on state roadways. Shea wrote about that legislation here, noting “[i]f you expect your car to begin driving you to work later this fall, however, you’ll be disappointed. In this instance, legislation has outpaced the technology it regulates.” Seven years later, what’s changed? Car companies are increasingly marketing and selling vehicles as autonomous, self-driving, or with self-driving features. Autopilot (Tesla), Super Cruise (GM), BlueCruise (Ford), and Drive Pilot (Mercedes) are just a few examples. Has the vehicle industry caught up? And what are the emerging issues now that some of these vehicles are on the road?