Articles in the Uncategorized category - Page 10 of 155

The End of the Concurrent Sentence Default (December 1, 2025)

For many years, it has been the rule in North Carolina that when multiple sentences of imprisonment are imposed, they run concurrently by default. That has been required by statute since 1977. G.S. 15A-1354. And that statute carried forward prior law that “sentences are to run concurrently unless otherwise specified.” Id. Official Commentary.  Effective today, that default rule is removed.

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“Violent Offenses” under G.S. 15A-531(9) (November 26, 2025)

December 1 is approaching, which means that many of the changes enacted by the General Assembly this session will be taking effect soon. Among the pending changes are those enacted by Iryna’s law (H 307), which I covered in greater detail in an earlier blog post. This follow-up post focuses on the new category of “violent offenses.”

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An Update on Law Enforcement Use of Drones (November 17, 2025)

I recently participated in a WFAE radio show about law enforcement use of drones, along with a captain from the Winston-Salem Police Department and an advocate from the ACLU. I thought the discussion was excellent, with a nice balance of perspectives. In the course of preparing for the program, I did an environmental scan about how law enforcement officers are currently using drones, and looked for court opinions about some of the legal questions presented by drone use. This post summarizes what I learned before and during the show.

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