North Carolina Criminal Law NC Criminal Law

The General Assembly passed a $23 billion state budget bill this week that includes provisions likely of interest to blog readers.  In what would be a significant change to the criminal justice system, the proposed budget raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction such that most cases against 16- and 17-year-olds will be handled in the juvenile system, rather than the adult system, beginning in December 2019.  The News Roundup previously noted that the proposal to raise the age had broad support from law makers and criminal justice system stakeholders.  A more controversial provision of the bill cuts roughly $10 million from the administrative and legal services budget of the Department of Justice.  Keep reading for more news. Continue reading →

In Packingham v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down G.S. 14-202.5, North Carolina’s ban on sex offenders accessing commercial social networking websites. The law violates the First Amendment. Continue reading →

On Wednesday, a man with a rifle ambushed Republican members of Congress at a park in Virginia as the lawmakers held a morning baseball practice in preparation for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, which was held yesterday.  Five people were wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was in critical condition at the time of writing.  Two Capitol Police officers engaged the gunman in a shootout where he was fatally injured.  The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, seemingly was motivated by political animus – he reportedly asked whether the lawmakers were Democrats or Republicans before the attack.  The Washington Post has comprehensive coverage of the incident.  Keep reading for more news.

Continue reading →

Former FBI director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is without question the biggest news of the week.  CBS News says that bars across the country opened early to serve drinks to customers while they watched the testimony live.  The Chicago Tribune says that workplace productivity was expected to plummet Thursday, much as it does during March Madness, as workers tuned into the testimony at their desks.  Keep reading for more news.

Continue reading →