A UNC School of Government Blog
Dan Defendant is charged with and arrested for driving while impaired. He is taken to a law enforcement center for administration of a chemical analysis. At 2:00 a.m., the chemical analyst informs Dan of his implied consent rights, as set forth in G.S. 20-16.2. Dan indicates that he wishes to call a witness. Dan calls … Read more
I blogged here about In re J.D.B., a juvenile case in which the North Carolina Supreme Court held that a 13-year-old, questioned in an unlocked school conference room by police officers and an assistant principal about the student’s role in several residential break-ins, was not in custody for Miranda purposes. The court stated that “[f]or … Read more
When I first came to the School of Government, I picked a few small areas of law in which I hoped to develop some expertise. One of those areas was the then-new Eyewitness Identification Reform Act. It was enacted in 2007, effective for crimes committed on or after March 1, 2008. S.L. 2007-421. It’s codified … Read more
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the offense of operating while impaired. One of the issues I raised in the post was whether telling a defendant that his or her refusal to submit to a breath test in such a case was admissible at trial amounted to coercion that rendered the consent involuntary. A … Read more
I’ve had several questions lately about the authority of law enforcement to track a suspect by obtaining information about contacts between the suspect’s cellular telephone and cellular towers. I’m also going to be teaching about some related issues in the near future. So I’ve prepared a short summary of the law in this area, which … Read more
As most readers of this blog are aware, S.L. 2010-94 creates a new statute, G.S. 15A-266.3A, which provides for the collection of a DNA sample from anyone arrested for a laundry list of offenses, most but not all of which are felonies, and most but not all of which are violent crimes. Under some circumstances, … Read more
A couple of recent cases got me thinking about the authority of the police to enter a home without a warrant when there is an emergency. First, the legal background. Generally, a warrant is required to enter a home without the consent of the occupants. Yet “a warrant is not required to break down a … Read more
Last year, I published a paper about law enforcement access to phone records and other information about electronic communications. In the paper, I explained that “[a]mong North Carolina judges, only superior court judges may issue court orders for phone records.” As luck would have it, a few weeks later, Congress amended some of the relevant … Read more
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer around these parts, and I thought I’d mark the occasion with a post related to boating (a favorite summer pastime) and crime (since this is, after all, the criminal law blog). Specifically, this post discusses the crime of boating while impaired. G.S. 75A-10(b1) prohibits the operation of … Read more
I’ve just finished a paper about motor vehicle checkpoints. It’s available here as a free download. It’s meant as a resource for judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officers, and it includes sections on establishing, operating, and litigating checkpoints. I hope it’s useful, and I’ll be interested in your feedback about it, which you can provide … Read more