A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
Suppose that the state wants to introduce the defendant’s phone records, in order to show that he called the victim in violation of a DVPO. The state subpoenas the records, and the phone company provides them, along with an affidavit from an appropriate employee stating that they are business records. Armed with the records and … Read more
Nationally, the biggest piece of criminal law news this week was that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill that repeals the death penalty in Illinois. He also commuted the sentences of the fifteen men on death row to life in prison. (All had been sentenced to death since 2000, when then-Governor George … Read more
I was reading the News and Observer this morning over breakfast and saw this story about jury selection in a Wake County murder case. The thrust of the story will not surprise anyone who has ever tried a lengthy case: At a time when many families are feeling pinched by the recession, prosecutors and defense … Read more
At a recent CLE, Charlotte defense attorney Chris Fialko mentioned that he’s been enjoying Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto. Chris is a pretty sharp guy, and I had a plane trip coming up, so I bought the book and read it. I liked it too, and thought it had a few lessons for criminal … Read more
I don’t generally write about pending cases. But the high-profile homicide trial of Raymond Cook has recently wrapped up, and there’s a discrete aspect of the case that I found especially interesting. First, a brief synopsis of the facts: Cook was a physician. After drinking at a country club, then later at a bar, his … Read more
With the General Assembly in session and the Supreme Court in term, each week brings a flood of interesting news. The top story this week was probably the Court’s decision in Michigan v. Bryant, a Confrontation Clause case in which the Court held that a mortally wounded shooting victim’s statements to police about the “identification … Read more
Lots of news again this week. 1. The News and Observer ran this story, the opening line of which is “[e]very case former State Bureau of Investigation Agent Duane Deaver touched is now a potential land mine.” It’s an interesting read, and it raises some serious legal issues. Plus, my colleague Jessie Smith is quoted. … Read more
According to this recent article in the ABA Journal, criminal defense lawyers “[i]ncreasingly . . . are asking their clients to wear glasses during jury trials,” believing that juries will be more likely to acquit bespectacled defendants, who they may view as less threatening. One prosecutor characterized the strategy as an “unspoken nerd defense.” The … Read more
Normally, field sobriety tests are administered before an arrest is made, as part of an officer’s investigation into a possible DWI. In that case, it’s clear that the officer need not read the driver his Miranda rights before administering the tests. The driver isn’t in custody — he’s just the subject of a traffic stop … Read more
Suppose that A, who has HIV and knows it, has unprotected sex with B, who doesn’t have HIV. A doesn’t warn B. Has A committed a crime? Yes. At a minimum, A has failed to abide by communicable disease control measures. Under G.S. 130A-144(f), “[a]ll persons” are required to comply with control measures. The control … Read more