blankShea Denning

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State v. Davis and Double Jeopardy v. Statutory Construction

[Update: the state supreme court reviewed this case, reversing in part, as described here.] The court of appeals published its opinion in State v. Davis this week, a case in which it affirmed the defendant’s convictions for felony serious injury by vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, two counts of felony death … Read more

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DWI Appeal Procedures: Fowler and Palmer

Two statutes enacted as part of the Motor Vehicle Driver Protection Act of 2006, G.S. 20-38.6 and 20-38.7, significantly altered district court procedures for implied consent offenses committed on or after December 1, 2006.   G.S. 20-38.6(a) requires that motions to suppress evidence or dismiss charges in such cases be made pre-trial, except for motions to … Read more

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Stick to the Plan (er, Policy)

Before December 1, 2006, GS 20-16.3A set forth requirements governing impaired driving checkpoints but not other types of checking stations and roadblocks.  While non-DWI checking stations and roadblocks had to satisfy the strictures of the state and federal constitution, no specific statutory procedures governed their establishment and use.  The Motor Vehicle Driver Protection Act of … Read more

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Do You Know How Fast You Were Driving?

Recently, I blogged about limitations on a judge’s authority to enter a disposition of prayer for judgment continued in speeding cases depending upon the speeding charge. (You can read that post here.) The recent discussion regarding judgments in speeding cases begs the question of why specific speeds are part of the adjudication in the first … Read more