Visual Estimates of Speed and “Slight Speeding”
The Fourth Circuit recently decided United States v. Sowards, an interesting case about a traffic stop. The case arose when an experienced traffic enforcement officer stopped the defendant on I-77 […]
July 9, 2012
Court OKs Measuring Combined Bags in Drug Cases
In State v. Huerta, the court of appeals recently reaffirmed its controlled substance “combination decisions.” Here’s what happened. Huerta was convicted of, among other things, trafficking by possession of more […]
June 25, 2012
Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
As I explain in more detail here, notice and demand statutes allow the State to obtain a constitutional waiver of confrontation rights so that forensic lab reports and related items […]
June 13, 2012
4th Circuit Ruling: Child’s Statements to Social Worker Are Non-testimonial
The U.S. Supreme Court’s new Crawford confrontation clause rule has had significant impact in child victim prosecutions, largely because of problems with getting children to testify. One frequent Crawford question […]
May 29, 2012
N.C. Court of Appeals Weighs in on “Testimonial” Evidence after Bryant
Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Michigan v. Bryant may have signaled a loosening of that Court’s interpretation of the key term “testimonial” as used in the Crawford confrontation […]
May 23, 2012
Legal Expert Witnesses
The jury in the John Edwards case is still deliberating. Although I haven’t followed the case closely, I found very interesting one evidentiary ruling that took place during the trial. […]
April 30, 2012
Child Victims and the Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Hearsay Exception
Child victim cases often present an array of challenging evidence issues. In a paper here I addressed many of those issues. One common question that folks contact me about is […]
April 2, 2012
North Carolina Has Its First Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Case
Under the new Crawford confrontation clause analysis, testimonial hearsay statements by witnesses who do not appear at trial cannot be admitted unless the prosecution shows unavailability and a prior opportunity […]
February 20, 2012
It’s Testimonial, Stupid
“It’s the economy, stupid,” was a catch phrase in Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign. I have my own catch phrase, but it’s for trying drug cases. Here it is: […]
February 13, 2012
Use of a Defendant’s Pre- and Post-Arrest Silence at Trial
The N.C. Court of Appeals’ recent decision in State v. Harrison raises an issue that arises with some frequency in N.C. criminal trials: When can the State use evidence of […]
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