The old media motto is “if it bleeds, it leads.” But today, I’m leading with a good news story of danger averted. Dan Hicks, a Raleigh PD officer, talked a man off the edge of a freeway overpass Wednesday night and gave him a hug. Officer Hicks explained to WRAL that the man in question “got a big old Dan Hicks bear hug, whether he wanted it or not. . . . [H]e was not going to be given the opportunity to go over that bridge again. He got to stand there with me for a second and get that hug. Call it tactical, call it compassionate, I think it was probably both.” Well done, Officer Hicks.
Jeff Welty
Pleading Defects and Double Jeopardy
I recently taught a class of law students about criminal pleadings. We discussed proper pleadings and defective pleadings, and the State’s ability to bring new charges against a defendant after a case is dismissed due to a fatal defect in the pleading. It was an interesting conversation, and it prompted me to look into the matter a bit more. This post summarizes the law.
News Roundup
All eyes were on Houston this week, where Shannon Miles has been charged with murdering Deputy Darren Goforth. Miles allegedly approached Goforth from behind at a gas station and fired 15 rounds into the officer. This CNN story has the details. It includes a statement by the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police that “In the last few years, ambush attacks aimed to kill or injure law enforcement officers have risen dramatically.” I hope that’s a blip, not a trend.
Can a Magistrate Issue a Search Warrant for a Computer or a Cell Phone?
I’ve had the same question several times recently: can a magistrate issue a search warrant for a computer or a cell phone? The answer is yes. This post explains why that’s so, and why there’s some confusion about the issue.
News Roundup
Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes has been sentenced to 12 life terms plus 3,378 years in prison. He did not receive the death penalty due to the vote of a single holdout juror. CNN’s stories about the sentencing hearing are here and here; the statements from the surviving victims and the families of the deceased are difficult to read.
Advice to Officers After Graham
As I discussed here, the Fourth Circuit recently ruled in United States v. Graham, __ F.3d __, 2015 WL 4637931 (4th Cir. Aug. 5, 2015), that an officer who obtained two suspects’ cell site location information (CSLI) without a search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment. (The officer used a court order based on a lower standard, as purportedly authorized by the relevant federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d).) I’ve had a number of practical questions about Graham from officers, agency attorneys, and judges, and I thought that I would collect some of the questions here.
News Roundup
All eyes are on Charlotte this week. Former CMPD officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick is on trial for voluntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting of Jonathan Ferrell. I have not followed the trial closely but some have suggested that the evidence came in more favorable to the defense than was generally expected pretrial. The jury has now deliberated for more than two full days without reaching a verdict. However, no Allen charge has yet been given. The Charlotte Observer has a useful Q-and-A about the case and the prospects for a verdict here. If the jury hangs, the next question would be whether the State would retry Mr. Kerrick.
School of Government Launches New Website
The School of Government has just launched a redesigned website. It’s better looking, plays well with mobile devices, and is driven more by searches than by click-through navigation. I’m sure it has plenty of kinks that we will need to work out but it is a major effort to revamp the website in accordance with current best practices and usage patterns.
Book Review: Unfair
I’ve just finished Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Justice by Drexel University law professor Adam Benafordo. The reviews I’ve seen online have been positive. For example, the Boston Globe opines that the book “succinctly and persuasively recounts cutting-edge research testifying to the faulty and inaccurate procedures that underpin virtually all aspects of our criminal justice system.” And the book has attracted enough attention for Professor Benafordo to be interviewed on NPR’s hit show Fresh Air. This post briefly summarizes the book and then offers a few thoughts about it.
Fourth Circuit: Cell Site Location Information Requires a Search Warrant
The Fourth Circuit just decided United States v. Graham, an important case about law enforcement access to cell site location information (CSLI). This post summarizes the case, explains its importance for North Carolina proceedings, and puts it in context in the broader debate about this type of information.