Articles in the Crimes and Elements category - Page 37 of 49

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 […]

I’ll willing to bet that most of you sang these lyrics as a child: “You put your right hand in, You put your right hand out, You put your right […]

Misdemeanor death by vehicle is defined in G.S. 20-141.4(a2) as (1) unintentionally causing the death of another person (2) while violating a State law or local ordinance applying to the […]

Now that Christmas is over, Santa’s cases are coming on for trial. He’s accused of multiple counts of burglary. We already know the facts: He entered dwellings at night, using […]

In a post here, I listed my top five indictment errors. The number one error was misstating the victim’s name in an indictment charging larceny or a related crime interfering […]

It’s the end of the year. The criminal justice system is slowing down a little bit for the holidays, but other activity is ramping up. For many parents, making a […]

A caller recently asked me whether it is a crime to use gang signs. First, some background. According to one gang expert, “each gang has their own gang hand signs […]

I wrote recently about how the Justice Reinvestment Act changes North Carolina’s existing habitual felon law (you can read that post here). This post examines a new recidivist offender statute […]

As part of the Justice Reinvestment project, analysts from the Council of State Governments (CSG) looked at how the habitual felon law is used in North Carolina. In general, the […]

I’ve had several questions about BB guns, pellet guns, and airsoft guns, and whether certain criminal offenses can be predicated on the use or possession of such weapons. I’ll try […]