A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
The biggest legal news of the week may be the Supreme Court’s recognition of a right to the effective assistance of counsel during plea bargaining in Lafler v. Cooper and Missouri v. Frye. I previewed Lafler here, and plan to do a detailed analysis of the cases next week. For now, suffice it to say … Read more
Jessie Smith has completely revised and updated the indispensable reference work North Carolina Crimes. The seventh edition is now available for purchase from the School of Government. The book has its own web page, here, where you can see the Table of Contents and a sample of the text, and can order the book if … Read more
There must be some sort of planetary alignment taking place today: Duke, UNC, and NC State all play in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the new iPad goes on sale, and best of all, it is time for another news roundup. 1. This week’s headlines center on Forsyth County, because the state supreme court just … Read more
Yesterday, I wrote about a pair of recent cases about weaving within a lane of travel. Today, I want to mention another pair of recent cases related to automobiles. Last month, the court of appeals decided, on the same day, two cases that address the scope of a suspect’s consent to search a vehicle. In … Read more
Two recent cases from the court of appeals have added to our state’s weaving jurisprudence. One of them is a pretty big deal, as I’ll explain below. But first, the background. G.S. 20-146 requires that “[a] vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from … Read more
The New Hanover County courthouse was closed yesterday to deal with “bedbugs . . . discovered by court personnel,” the News and Observer reports here. Yuck. In other news: 1. The General Statues posted on the General Assembly’s website are now current though January 5, 2012, so they’re essentially completely up to date. They’re certainly … Read more
The School of Government is considering whether to enter the world of smartphone and tablet apps as a vehicle for conveying legal information. Given my love of gadgets, you can imagine how enthusiastic I am about this possibility! For example, we could develop an app that would serve as a mobile legal reference for law … Read more
There’s a lot going on this week! The removal hearing in Durham concerning District Attorney Tracey Cline has ended, with Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood promising a decision Friday morning. The dispute over consent searches in Fayetteville has taken a new turn, with a judge entering a temporary restraining order requiring the city to lift … Read more
There’s a popular video game — or really, series of video games — called Grand Theft Auto. And many states have a crime called grand theft auto, or have some other theft offense that is specific to motor vehicles. In fact, according to this handy chart from the National Conference of State Legislatures, it appears … Read more
I can’t stop writing about Fayetteville! The city council’s 120-day moratorium on consent searches by the police during traffic stops came under fire this week from several angles. First, the Attorney General’s office issued an advisory letter concluding, in essence, that a municipal government can’t take away a power granted by a state statute — … Read more