A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff Welty 
In a previous news roundup, I posted an item about how to write like Chief Justice Roberts. But sometimes a negative example can be as useful as a positive one. In that connection, check out this petition for rehearing filed in the Ninth Circuit. Referring to the panel as a bunch of “slime ball, piece … Read more
If you signed up to receive email notifications of new posts — which you can do in the right-hand column on the front page of the blog — you may have noticed an interruption in service recently. I apologize for that. We had a technical glitch of some kind that removed all our subscribers. Thanks … Read more
One of the clipping services to which I subscribe recently highlighted People v. Assad, __ Cal.Rptr.3d __, 2010 WL 4035491 (Cal. Ct. App. 3 Dist. Oct. 15, 2010). The defendant in Assad was a Syrian man. He tied his twelve-year-old son to his bed and beat him repeatedly and severely with a hose and wooden … Read more
When I first came to the School of Government, I picked a few small areas of law in which I hoped to develop some expertise. One of those areas was the then-new Eyewitness Identification Reform Act. It was enacted in 2007, effective for crimes committed on or after March 1, 2008. S.L. 2007-421. It’s codified … Read more
It was an absolutely fascinating news week. Among the noteworthy stories: 1. In Graham v. Florida, discussed here, the United States Supreme Court held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for a non-homicide offense. Several recent cases ask whether Graham marks the outer limit of the … Read more
I’ve been involved in the North Carolina Bar Association for a number of years, and this year, I’m the chair of the Criminal Justice Section. My work with the NCBA fits well with my work at the School of Government, because broadly, both organizations are dedicated to improving the court system and the professionalism of … Read more
My favorite story this week is this report about a proposed ordinance in East Laurinburg. The ordinance “would charge people with indecent exposure if the top of their pants or skirt hangs 3 inches or more below the waistline.” Folks on both sides seems to have put some thought into one-liners about the ordinance, with the … Read more
I’ve had a couple of questions about the same topic recently, so I thought I’d do a quick blog post about it. Our appellate courts have made clear that normally, “it is improper to make reference to the disposition of charges against a codefendant.” State v. Campbell, 296 N.C. 394 (1979). See also State v. … Read more
As the current edition of North Carolina Crimes explains, “[o]bstructing justice consists of any act that prevents, obstructs, impedes, or hinders public or legal justice, and it may take many forms.” Jessica Smith, North Carolina Crimes 451 (6th ed. 2007). The breadth of this common-law offense was recently highlighted by the court of appeals in … Read more
I’ve been at the beach the past couple of days, teaching at conferences. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.) One of the talks I gave was about GPS tracking, so this story about a man who discovered a tracking device on his car and the FBI’s subsequent efforts to retrieve the … Read more