A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
On balance, Americans like freedom, choices, and guns. It would seem to follow that Americans would support a free market that gives us an array of choices among guns. Yet some gun rights advocates are pressuring gun dealers not to sell so-called smart guns, which can “recognize” their owners and can only be fired by … Read more
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made some racist remarks to his girlfriend, she recorded them, and they were leaked on the internet. This appears likely to cost Sterling the ownership of his team, but he bought it for $12 million and will sell it for $1 billion, so he will be able to dry … Read more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard two cases regarding whether law enforcement officers may search a suspect’s cell phone incident to arrest. Generally, the answer to that question in North Carolina has been yes, as I discussed here. But it sounds like a new rule may be coming soon. The cases. In United States v. Wurie, … Read more
Another North Carolina case is headed to the Supreme Court. The latest grant of certiorari is in Heien v. North Carolina, the burned-out brake light case in which the state supreme court ruled that an investigative stop may be based on an officer’s mistake of law, so long as the mistake is reasonable. The decision … Read more
The Supreme Court just decided a case that significantly changes North Carolina law regarding whether a traffic stop can be made based on an anonymous 911 call alleging bad driving. The case is Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. __ (2014). The full opinion is here. This post summarizes the ruling and considers its implications for … Read more
I’ve been enjoying WRAL’s website lately. The News and Observer is putting more content behind a paywall, and WRAL has had a series of interesting criminal justice stories. The most recent is this one, an inside look at North Carolina’s Crime Victims Compensation Fund. Prosecutors, VWLAs, and law enforcement officers may be especially interested in … Read more
The state supreme court heard oral argument yesterday in two cases concerning the Racial Justice Act. In the first case, Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks struck down the death sentence imposed on Marcus Robinson under the RJA as enacted in 2009. In the second, Judge Weeks vacated the death sentences imposed on Quintel Augustine, Christina … Read more
Unquestionably the most shocking story of the week comes from Wake County, where an assistant district attorney’s father was kidnapped, apparently at the behest of an inmate the prosecutor had helped put away for life. The father was held for five days while his family received death threats, but he was rescued in Atlanta and … Read more
As a criminal lawyer, Durham resident, and Duke alumnus, I followed the Duke lacrosse case with more than a casual interest. Now, years after the fact, there’s a new book about it. The Price of Silence, by William D. Cohen, is available on Amazon for about $25. It purports to be “the definitive, magisterial account … Read more
WRAL just published this fascinating story, about North Carolina prisoners’ access to reading materials, the grounds on which access to reading materials can be denied – such as that the materials are sexually explicit, encourage gang activity, or promote violence or “disorder” – and the procedure through which such denials may be appealed. There are … Read more