blank

State v. Dewalt and Speeding to Elude

The court of appeals decided State v. Dewalt last week, holding that the aggravating factor of driving while license revoked, when used to elevate misdemeanor speeding to elude arrest to a felony offense pursuant to G.S. 20-141.5(b)(5), does not require proof that the defendant drove on a street or highway. The facts of the case, … Read more

Common Questions about Prescription Drugs

I thought I’d take a minute to discuss three questions that I get about prescription drugs. [Update: Several people posted comments or emailed me about the relationship between prescription drugs and controlled substances. I discussed that issue in some detail in this post, but briefly, some prescription drugs contain controlled substances and some don’t. Certainly, … Read more

blank

Aiding and Abetting

Under the common law doctrine of aiding and abetting, a person is considered to be a principal to a crime when: (1)  a crime is committed by another, (2)  the person knowingly advises, instigates, encourages, procures, or helps the other person commit the crime, and (3)  his or her actions or statements caused or contributed … Read more

Update on Unauthorized Access to a Computer

As I noted in a previous post, it is a crime under G.S. 14-454(b) “willfully and without authorization . . .  [to] access[] . . . any computer.” I posed a few scenarios in that earlier post, including one in which a judge tells a law clerk not to use the internet during business hours … Read more

Remain Within the Jurisdiction

It is a regular condition of probation for all supervised probationers that they “[r]emain within the jurisdiction of the court unless granted written permission to leave by the court or [their] probation officer.” G.S. 15A-1343(b)(2). What does “jurisdiction” mean in that statute? The county in which probation was imposed? The judicial district? The entire state? … Read more

blank

Parking Enforcement: Civil Penalties, Infractions and Wheel Locks

The contents of an envelope tucked under the windshield wiper of your car parked on a city street doesn’t seem as ominous as a citation hand-delivered through your driver’s side window by a law enforcement officer illuminated by the flashing blue lights of her police vehicle. But both may land you in district criminal court. … Read more

Internet Sweepstakes Update

I’ve blogged before about the General Assembly’s latest effort to eradicate internet sweepstakes. Because G.S. 14-306.4 went into effect yesterday, I’ve had lots of questions about the law. (I even made a brief television appearance — apparently, my 15 minutes seconds of fame.) My colleague Chris McLaughlin posted about the controversy in this area yesterday … Read more

blank

Strict Liability Crimes

In prior posts, I discussed transferred intent and criminal negligence. Intent and criminal negligence, along with malice and willfulness are some of the common states of mind that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a criminal conviction. With strict liability crimes, the prosecution’s case is easier. Strict liability crimes do not … Read more

blank

Criminal Negligence

Criminal negligence (sometimes called culpable negligence) means recklessness or carelessness that shows a thoughtless disregard of consequences or a heedless indifference to the safety and rights of others. State v. Jones, 353 N.C. 159 (2000); State v. Early, 232 N.C. 717, 720 (1950). The showing required to establish criminal negligence is less than the level … Read more