A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
A North Carolina judge made the national news recently because of the sentence she imposed on a young woman who pled guilty to being drunk and disruptive and to resisting an officer. Halifax County Chief District Court Judge Brenda Branch gave 21-year-old Tonie Marie King a suspended sentence and ordered her to write a two-page … Read more
Law enforcement use of automated license plate readers has become very widespread. It raises several interesting legal and practical issues which I briefly explore below. What are they? License plate readers are electronic devices – basically, enhanced cameras – that scan each passing car, detect the license plate, read it, and record it. The devices … Read more
Last week, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of all charges in connection with the killing of Trayvon Martin. Some are now calling for Zimmerman to be charged federally. In fact, according to the New York Times, “[t]he Justice Department said Sunday that it was restarting its investigation” into the matter. However, I seriously doubt … Read more
The question. Many cases hold that the smell of marijuana provides probable cause to search a vehicle. See, e.g., State v. Greenwood, 301 N.C. 705, 708 (1981); State v. Smith, 192 N.C. App. 690 (2008) (“When an officer detects the odor of marijuana emanating from a vehicle, probable cause exists for a warrantless search of … Read more
I’m rounding up the news today on the theory that for most people, today is the last work day of the week. I know it is for me. Here are some of the week’s top stories: 90-96 program discretionary again. Jamie noted last week that H 641 was “poised to become law,” and indeed, it … Read more
Background. In State v. Byrd, 363 N.C. 214 (2009), the state supreme court concluded that an ex parte domestic violence protective order, or DVPO, was not a “valid protective order” for purposes of the sentencing enhancement under G.S. 50B-4.1(d). (As explained in this prior post about Byrd, the enhancement provides that a felony that also … Read more
Chief Justice Roberts recently noted that the Supreme Court is a “hot bench,” meaning a court that frequently interrupts lawyers’ presentations with questions. Indeed, he suggested that the Court, himself included, has gone too far in that direction, allowing lawyers too little opportunity to say what they deem most important. His remarks on the subject … Read more
Pardon the brevity of this week’s roundup. I’m at a conference today and my blogging capacity is limited. But there were several important and interesting stories this week: 1. Prosecutors are asking the Governor to end the prison system’s policy of allowing certain well-behaved inmates have home visits as they near the end of their … Read more
My colleagues have published several new papers recently, so I thought I would take a moment to highlight them. Judicial misconduct. In April, Michael Crowell published What Gets Judges in Trouble, which provides an overview of the procedures for disciplining judges, summarizes statistical information about complaints of judicial misconduct, and identifies the types of misconduct … Read more
Most search warrants are obtained before anyone has been charged with a crime. But sometimes officers will charge a defendant and then decide to obtain a search warrant to seek additional evidence. In such a case, may investigators still obtain a search warrant from a magistrate, or does a magistrate lose jurisdiction over the case … Read more