North Carolina Criminal Law

Under G.S. 15A-1345(c), a preliminary hearing on a probation violation must be held within seven working days of a probationer’s arrest to determine whether there is probable cause to believe […]

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One of the things I do as Defender Educator is design CLEs for public defenders and private assigned counsel. In an effort to plan top-notch programs, I meet from time […]

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A Chicago Tribune article, available here, states that an Illinois public defender recently moved to prohibit the state from seeking the death penalty against her client because the state does […]

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In 2007, legislative action designed to stiffen penalties for drivers charged with speeding followed close on the heels of the “Speed Unlimited” series published in the News and Observer in […]

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In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the Supreme Court held that prosecutors could not exercise peremptory challenges based on race. In Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. 42 (1992), […]

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In 2007, the General Assembly enacted the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act, G.S. 15A-284.50 et seq.  The heart of the Act is G.S. 15A-284.52, which lays out rules for conducting lineups, […]

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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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