The Legal Status of Bestiality

Northwestern University law professor Eugene Kontorovich believes that that bestiality is constitutionally protected private sexual activity, and thinks that a recent federal court ruling supports his claim. This post examines the issue briefly. North Carolina law. Bestiality is illegal under G.S. 14-177, which makes it a Class I felony to “commit the crime against nature, … Read more

Video Surveillance Cameras

Law enforcement officers are making more and more use of video surveillance cameras, often mounted on utility poles. Sometimes these cameras are focused on streets or parks, as discussed in this Fayetteville Observer article. Sometimes they are focused on suspects’ residences. (Sometimes, hidden cameras are installed inside residences or other private areas, but such uses … Read more

News Roundup

The lead story this week is the intersection of college sports and criminal law. Consider (1) former UNC professor Julius Nyang’oro has been charged with obtaining property by false pretenses in connection with an alleged no-show summer school class filled with UNC football players; (2) N.C. State running back Shadrach Thornton has been suspended from … Read more

Do Only Turkeys Get Pardons?

It is a Thanksgiving tradition for the president to pardon a turkey. This year, CNN reports, it was a Minnesota bird named Popcorn. But is executive clemency limited to avians? This post briefly explores the available data. Decline in federal clemency. Though he pardoned a turkey, President Obama has not pardoned many people. The New … Read more

Does the Trespass Theory of the Fourth Amendment Limit the Scope of Knock and Talks?

In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. __ (2012), and Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. __ (2013), the Supreme Court announced a new, or perhaps revived an old, understanding of the Fourth Amendment that is closely tied to property rights and trespass. In Jones, the Court ruled that attaching a GPS tracking device to a … Read more

News Roundup

Whoa! A very busy news week. Here’s the rundown: PD becomes DA. Public Defender Andy Womble has been appointed by Governor McCrory to fill the remainder of the term of deceased District Attorney Frank Parrish in District 1, as the Outer Banks Voice notes here. If a public defender has ever before become a district … Read more

Computer Searches and Plain View

Whether the plain view doctrine makes sense in the context of computer searches, and if it doesn’t, what courts should do about it, are controversial issues. We don’t have any North Carolina case law on point but decisions are piling up around the country. This post summarizes the controversy. Computer searches may be very thorough. … Read more

Returns and Inventories for Computer Search Warrants

More and more criminal investigations involve searches of computers and other digital devices. It is sometimes difficult to apply long-established search and seizure law to the practical realities of digital investigations. One example of this phenomenon concerns the preparation of the return and the inventory after the execution of a search warrant,  a topic of … Read more

News Roundup

The North Carolina Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section had its annual awards dinner last night. As always, it was an inspiration. Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman received the Peter Gilchrist award as an outstanding career prosecutor, and Guilford County Public Defender Fred Lind received the Wade Smith Award as an outstanding career defense attorney. … Read more