A UNC School of Government Blog
Jessica Smith Eating the evidence might yield a stomach ache but it won’t ensure an acquittal. That is the lesson learned from State v. James, a case recently decided by the N.C. Court of Appeals. In James, an officer was patrolling in an unmarked vehicle when the defendant waived her over. As the officer opened her car … Read more
In a post here, I wrote about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bullcoming v. New Mexico, 131 S. Ct. 2705 (2011), holding that substitute analyst testimony in an impaired driving case violated Crawford. Bullcoming was no great surprise in light of the Court’s prior decision in Melendez-Diaz. However, less than one week after the … Read more
[Editor’s note: For a discussion of waivers in the context of probation violation proceedings, see Jamie Markham’s recent post here.] In the last batch of N.C. Court of Appeals’ decisions there were two more cases in which convictions were reversed because the trial judge failed to take a proper waiver of counsel. It’s time for … Read more
The crime of maintaining a dwelling has four elements. To be guilty, a person must: (1) knowingly (2) keep or maintain (3) a store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or other place (4) (a) being resorted to by persons unlawfully using controlled substances or (b) being used for unlawfully keeping or selling … Read more
The crime of Maintaining a Store, Dwelling, Vehicle, Boat, or Other Place for Use, Storage, or Sale of Controlled Substances is a common one. In fact, AOC statistics show that this offense was charged over 14,000 times statewide in 2010. At trial, this crime presents a couple of complicated issues. One is: how does the … Read more
Crime against nature is usually an “add on” to other charged sexual assaults, such as forcible or statutory sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child. In this post, I’ll address several aspects of the offense that keep tripping lawyers up. First, what’s covered by the offense? The statute makes it a Class I felony … Read more
New legislation this year creates a handful of new homicide and assault crimes protecting unborn children. S.L. 2011-60. The term “unborn child” “means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.” G.S. 14‑23.1. The new crimes, which apply to offenses committed on or after December … Read more
On June 23rd, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bullcoming v. New Mexico. As anticipated, the case turned out to be a straightforward application of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. __, 129 S. Ct. 2527 (2009) (forensic laboratory reports are testimonial; absent a stipulation, the prosecution may not introduce such a report without a live witness … Read more
One recurring question I get asked is this: If the Defendant engages in two sex acts in one continuous transaction, how many assaults have occurred? When the acts are vaginal intercourse and the charge is rape, each separate act of vaginal intercourse that constitutes rape is a separate, punishable offense. State v. Dudley, 319 N.C. … Read more
In my first two posts, I explored the Bryant opinions. Today I’ll discuss what the case means for confrontation clause analysis going forward. 1. Although Crawford is intact, the Court may be creeping back towards the old Ohio v. Roberts reliability test. Slip op. at 14; id. at 15 n.9; Op. of Scalia, J. dissenting … Read more