Latest posts in category Sentencing on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

In an earlier bulletin, I discussed the possibility that state habeas petitions could emerge as a remedy for medically vulnerable prisoners in North Carolina, as they have in other states (most notably New York). While it remains too early to tell how North Carolina courts will respond, there have been some important developments in recent weeks, as a number of prisoners have asked courts to consider their petitions. This post explores the status of two of those cases and related legal issues regarding the viability of state habeas as a remedy for prisoners uniquely endangered by COVID-19.

In a post last year, here, I discussed some of the issues related to sex offender registration for out-of-state offenses. Among other things, I noted a federal case in which a registrant challenged the constitutionality of North Carolina’s process (or, really, lack of process) for determining whether a conviction from another state is substantially similar to a North Carolina crime requiring registration. A subsequent case prompted a legislative change that is the main subject of today’s post.

This post summarizes published criminal opinions of the Court of Appeals decided on July 7, 2020.

A new law provides a limited possibility of sentencing and post-conviction relief for certain defendants convicted of drug trafficking.

Almost ten years after the Justice Reinvestment Act established a new statutory definition of absconding from probation, we’re starting to get a better sense of what behavior does and does not rise to the level of absconding.

The School’s two graphic novels about how sentences are served have been translated into Spanish.

As the court system expands operations this week, people have questions about the current status of the correctional system. Today’s post covers some of the things we know.

Today’s post shares a short paper on restitution that I recently prepared for the Conference of District Attorneys. I thought it might also be useful to other audiences.

As the courts expand operations in the coming months, they’ll likely be holding probation violation hearings on cases where the probation period has already expired. A case decided by the Court of Appeals yesterday offers some insight into the type of findings needed to give a court jurisdiction to act.

As Shea discussed on Monday, the court system will look to expand operations on June 1. Today’s post describes a few of the issues related to probation that are likely to arise in the months ahead.