A UNC School of Government Blog
I wrote previously (here and here) about the “donut hole” in the probation law regarding absconding. In short, due to a wrinkle in legislative effective dates, persons on probation for an offense committed before December 1, 2011 who abscond after that date cannot be revoked for absconding. Today’s post considers whether a similar phenomenon arises … Read more
It’s time to post an updated sex offender registration and monitoring flow chart. The new chart is available here. It incorporates the following issues, which were resolved by recent appellate cases. “Final conviction” for registration purposes. As discussed in this prior post, the Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed the ruling of the court of … Read more
A recent case from the Supreme Court of North Carolina appears to have relaxed the limits on the use of hearsay at a probation violation hearing. The case also sheds light on the persistent question of whether a pending criminal charge may be considered as a violation of probation. In State v. Murchison, the defendant … Read more
Entering a sentence is more than a mere recitation of months and years and dollars. A judge has wide latitude to consider all sorts of information at sentencing, and then to make comments about that information when pronouncing judgment. As the Fourth Circuit put it in a leading case, “[t]o a considerable extent a sentencing … Read more
When a person’s probation is revoked, his or her suspended sentence is generally activated in the same manner in which it was entered by the sentencing judge. But a lot can happen—both good and bad—in the time between sentencing and revocation, and sometimes a change is in order. This post considers the extent of a … Read more
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided Hall v. Florida, a case about the death penalty and intellectual disability. It’s an important case with implications for North Carolina. Background. In Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), the Court prohibited the imposition of the death penalty on mentally retarded defendants. The Court indicated that it … Read more
The county is generally responsible for the cost of emergency medical care for jail inmates. G.S. 153A-224(b). It’s not always clear what constitutes an emergency, but state regulations include things like “severe bleeding, unconsciousness, serious breathing difficulties, head injury, severe pain, suicidal behavior or severe burns.” 10A N.C. Admin. Code 14J.0101(14). The rules also mention … Read more
The General Assembly convened earlier today for its short session. While lawmakers’ primary focus doubtless will be the state budget, the legislature may again consider ways to address the persistent problem of impaired driving. Among the bills eligible for consideration this session is House Bill 41, which would amend the State’s license restoration laws to … Read more
When I talk about the “commit no criminal offense” probation condition, it’s almost always about one particular issue. May a pending charge (or even uncharged conduct) be considered as a violation of that condition? Or must there be a conviction for that offense before it may be considered? I talk about that issue at length … Read more
The most serious level of misdemeanor DWI is Aggravated Level One, which I generally refer to as Level A1. A defendant convicted of driving while impaired is subject to sentencing at Level A1 if three or more grossly aggravating factors apply. G.S. 20-179(c). Typically, defendants sentenced at this level are repeat offenders, though it is … Read more