A UNC School of Government Blog
March Madness starts today. Apparently, many people take the time to predict how the entire tournament will play out, in an age-old custom called “filling out a bracket.” How strange! (Printable PDF here.) Anyhow, I’m told that some of these people will band together with others to form “pools,” to which each participant contributes money. … Read more
Every state and the District of Columbia prohibits driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more though state laws vary regarding whether to establish a violation of the per se impaired driving law an alcohol concentration of .08 or more must exist at the time of driving (see, for example, Ala Code § 32-5A-191; … Read more
When a person over 16, using a computer or other electronic device, and with the “intent to commit an unlawful sex act, entices, advises, coerces, orders, or commands” a person under 16 and at least five years younger than the first person to meet for the purpose of committing an unlawful sex act, the first … Read more
What does it mean to access a computer without authorization? It’s an important question. North Carolina’s computer crime statutes appear at G.S. 14-453 et seq. Among other things, the statutes make it illegal “willfully and without authorization . . . [to] access[] . . . any computer.” The crime of unauthorized access is more serious … Read more
The Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) is studying data related to the disposition of seventeen types of misdemeanor charges during the 2009 fiscal year to determine whether decriminalization of these offenses might be an appropriate way to reduce the cost to the State of providing appointed counsel. Section 15.17 of S.L. 2009-451 directed IDS … Read more
Jeff Welty blogged here about inconsistent verdicts. As he explained, a defendant generally isn’t entitled to relief from inconsistent verdicts, which may result from jury irrationality, a jury’s desire to cut the defendant a break, or some other unknown reason. The defendant is protected by the court’s review of whether substantial evidence supports the charge … Read more
First off, sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I was laid up with food poisoning — I blame holiday leftovers! I’m much better today, so on to today’s topic, which is really recurrent. Suppose that a landlord tells the friend of a tenant that the friend can’t come on the property owned by the landlord but … Read more
Our murder statute, G.S. 14-17, defines first-degree murder, then proceeds as follows: “All other kinds of murder, including that which shall be proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of opium . . . cocaine . . . or methamphetamine, when the ingestion of such substance causes the death of the user, shall be deemed murder … Read more
A divided court of appeals decided another significant gun case this week. But before I talk about the opinion in State v. Whitaker, I’ll briefly summarize the legal backdrop for the case. In June 2008, the United States Supreme Court decided District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual right … Read more
I have noted in numerous prior posts (most recently, here) that the statutes governing satellite-based monitoring (SBM) determination hearings (G.S. 14-208.40A and -208.40B) are unclear as to whether the court may, when deciding whether a particular offense was “aggravated,” consider only the elements of the conviction offense, or whether it may also consider the facts … Read more