What acts qualify as sexual acts? For North Carolina criminal law purposes, it depends on the context.
Jamie Markham
New Legislation on Sex Offender Registration for Out-of-State Offenses
In a post last year, here, I discussed some of the issues related to sex offender registration for out-of-state offenses. Among other things, I noted a federal case in which a registrant challenged the constitutionality of North Carolina’s process (or, really, lack of process) for determining whether a conviction from another state is substantially similar to a North Carolina crime requiring registration. A subsequent case prompted a legislative change that is the main subject of today’s post.
Case Summaries – North Carolina Court of Appeals (July 21, 2020)
This post summarizes opinions issued by the Court of Appeals of North Carolina on July 21, 2020.
The North Carolina First Step Act
A new law provides a limited possibility of sentencing and post-conviction relief for certain defendants convicted of drug trafficking.
Absconding Continues to Come into Focus
Almost ten years after the Justice Reinvestment Act established a new statutory definition of absconding from probation, we’re starting to get a better sense of what behavior does and does not rise to the level of absconding.
Graphic Novels in Spanish
The School’s two graphic novels about how sentences are served have been translated into Spanish.
Case Summaries – N.C. Supreme Court (June 5, 2020)
This post summarizes opinions issued by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on June 5, 2020.
An Update on Prisons and Jails as the Courts Expand Operations
As the court system expands operations this week, people have questions about the current status of the correctional system. Today’s post covers some of the things we know.
New Paper on Restitution
Today’s post shares a short paper on restitution that I recently prepared for the Conference of District Attorneys. I thought it might also be useful to other audiences.
Another Case on Probation Hearings After Expiration
As the courts expand operations in the coming months, they’ll likely be holding probation violation hearings on cases where the probation period has already expired. A case decided by the Court of Appeals yesterday offers some insight into the type of findings needed to give a court jurisdiction to act.