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 […]
September 15, 2023
A recent court of appeals case, State v. Calderon, ___ N.C. App. ___ (2023), sets forth a new test for determining whether multiple acts of touching a child during a […]
August 16, 2023
The First Amendment permits criminal punishment for speech only when it falls within an established exception. True threats, incitement to violence, obscenity, and fighting words are among the categories of […]
August 10, 2023
Last month the General Assembly enacted new G.S. 20-141.10 criminalizing so-called street takeovers. S.L. 2023-97. A street takeover occurs when a person blocks or impedes traffic on a highway, street, […]
August 8, 2023
I recently participated in a webinar with my colleagues Chris McLaughlin and Kirk Boone about the right of tax appraisers to enter private property. The webinar is available for purchase […]
June 19, 2023
Earlier this month, the Third Circuit, sitting en banc, found the federal felon-in-possession statute unconstitutional as applied. The decision was based on the new interpretive approach announced in New York […]