North Carolina Criminal Law

Update: I spent some time over the weekend thinking about this case.  It seems to me that one likely upshot of Harbison is that some states that currently provide for […]

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Update: I knew it.  One reader emailed me to say that our appellate courts have approved truncated jury instructions for at least thirty years, and referred me to State v. […]

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The Court of Appeals released a number of opinions yesterday.  Bob Farb will undoubtedly release his inimitable summaries shortly — to sign up to receive the summaries by email, go […]

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There’s lots of news these days about the Bernie Madoff case.  Apparently, he’s going to plead guilty today, without a plea agreement, exposing himself to a virtually certain life sentence.  […]

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The News and Observer ran a story recently — available here — about the length of time it takes to resolve murder cases in North Carolina. The average time to […]

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North Carolina law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms.  See G.S. 14-415.1.  I’ve had several recurrent questions about this offense, so here’s an FAQ about FIP (felon in possession): 1. […]

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Third Update: The use of initials appears to be a floor below which a criminal pleading may not fall. In In re M.S., the court of appeals held that a […]

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