A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
For as long as I can remember, parents have worried about adulterated Halloween candy, razorblades in apples, and the like. This concern is exaggerated, but not totally unfounded. Snopes states here that researchers have identified about 80 cases of sharp objects, usually pins, reportedly being inserted in fruit or candy distributed at Halloween. Although most … Read more
In Italy, six scientists have been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison for failing to predict an earthquake. Seriously. In other news: The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has just launched this website, which offers information on the restoration of rights after a criminal conviction in all 50 states and … Read more
The court of appeals just decided a case that’s important for officers, as well as lawyers and judges, to know about. The case is State v. Pasour, and it began when officers received a call “that a subject living at [a specific address] had marijuana plants growing with his tomato plants.” The officers decided to … Read more
In Durham, a man who shot at police during a traffic stop, and who was also served with warrants for first-degree sexual offense and other crimes, was given a total bail of $7.8 million. Durham’s chief magistrate told the News and Observer that it is not the highest bail in the county’s history. Readers, what’s … Read more
As Jessie noted in a previous post, when a prosecutor is making his or her closing argument, “caution should be exercised with regard to all comparisons between the defendant and an animal.” But what if the defendant is an animal? A South Carolina judge recently appointed an attorney to represent a pit bull alleged to … Read more
This week offered a nice mix of serious legal news and comic relief. Let’s start with the serious stuff. The News and Observer ran this story about declining juvenile crime rates. It states in part that “[w]hile overall violent crimes have declined by nearly 14 percent in the state since 2002, the number of teens … Read more
I blogged previously about whether the concept of curtilage applies to multi-unit dwellings like duplexes and apartment buildings. It’s an interesting question, and the cases summarized in the prior post show that the courts aren’t in complete agreement on the issue. I recently had a question on point, and one of the clipping services I … Read more
Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was sentenced yesterday to 30 to 60 years in prison on 45 counts of sexually abusing boys. The New York Times has the story here. The sentencing judge could have imposed a much longer cumulative sentence, but said: “I’m not going to sentence you to centuries. It makes … Read more
Fall is here, meaning cooler weather, leaves changing colors, and of course, elections. The North Carolina Bar Association has a new website that provides the results of performance surveys regarding incumbent trial court judges and their challengers. There are also elections for several seats on the court of appeals, and one on the state supreme … Read more
A couple of months ago, I blogged about State v. Herman, __ N.C. App. __ (2012), a case in which the court of appeals found a fatal defect in an indictment charging the defendant with being a sex offender unlawfully on a premises in violation of G.S. 14-208.18(a)(2). In a nutshell, the indictment in that … Read more