September 19, 2019
Under state law, pretrial conditions must be set after a defendant is arrested for a crime, and this typically occurs at the initial appearance before a magistrate. G.S. 15A-511. Although […]
September 12, 2019
While I was finishing up my post last Wednesday on Senate Bill 682 (the bill implementing the 2018 constitutional amendments expanding victims’ rights), the Governor was signing that bill into […]
September 5, 2019
Author’s note: Senate Bill 682 was signed by the Governor on September 4, 2019, and was chaptered as S.L. 2019-216. Last week, the General Assembly ratified Senate Bill 682, which […]
August 26, 2019
The General Assembly recently amended the law that governs the release of body camera footage. This post explains the change.
August 13, 2019
When you open a discussion by saying “I came across a really interesting venue issue the other day,” reactions typically range from “I doubt it” to “could we please talk […]
August 5, 2019
What happens when a magistrate issues a criminal summons for a defendant but the defendant can’t be located until after the court date on the summons has passed? For example, […]
July 24, 2019
People often say that district court is not a court of record for purposes of criminal cases. Is that right?
July 22, 2019
On July 6, wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. He’s being held without bond on the charges, which were brought by the United States Attorney’s […]
July 18, 2019
When can a court arrest judgment in a case? And what does it mean to do so?
July 16, 2019
The Fourth Circuit recently issued a decision prohibiting retrial of a defendant charged with murder following a mistrial. The government obtained the mistrial over the defendant’s objection when a key […]