July 9, 2024
In a case decided earlier this month, the Court of Appeals overturned the defendant’s conviction for kidnapping when the evidence showed only an unsuccessful carjacking. See State v. Andrews, No. […]
July 1, 2024
On June 21, the Supreme Court decided a highly-anticipated Second Amendment case. In United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. __ (2024), the Court considered a facial challenge to 18 U.S.C. […]
June 26, 2024
My colleague Jeff Welty has covered the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York Rife and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), and subsequent lower court cases […]
May 6, 2024
Homelessness is a challenging problem. Some cities have attempted to address it, in part, by prohibiting sleeping or camping in public places. The Supreme Court of the United States is […]
April 10, 2024
In Part I of my Spring 2024 cannabis update, I discussed the search and seizure issues arising in North Carolina courts around cannabis. Part II explores drug identification evidence issues […]
April 9, 2024
Robbery is larceny from the person by violence or intimidation. The exact relationship between the taking and the violence is vexing. There is authority for the proposition that the use […]
March 19, 2024
This post is co-authored with SOG faculty member Kristina Wilson and is cross-posted to the Coates’ Canons blog. When and how can state and local government officials and employees record […]
March 12, 2024
Two recent opinions from the Court of Appeals illustrate the remarkable controversy currently underway over the specificity required of indictments. In State v. Coffey, No. COA22-883, 2024 WL 675881 (N.C. […]
January 9, 2024
Reminiscent of the Wars of the Roses, our Supreme Court’s recent opinion in State v. Lancaster, __ N.C. __, 895 S.E.2d 337 (2023), concerns an offense first codified in 1328 […]
October 11, 2023
The answer would seem to be obvious. A person is guilty of forcible rape if the person engages in vaginal intercourse with another person by force and against the will […]