Latest posts in category Uncategorized on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

It might not seem like a sexy story, but in terms of practical impact, the rollout of a new system for handling certain traffic cases in Forsyth County is a big deal. The Winston-Salem Journal has the story here. The super condensed version is that the new system is for people who have been charged with infractions that the State would normally dismiss upon proof of compliance, like expired tags or no operator’s license. These defendants can scan their citations and the paperwork proving that they’ve addressed the problem, the DA’s office can review the submissions, and if appropriate, the DA’s office will dismiss the charges. If you have experience with the system, please post a comment.

Shea blogged here about the same-sex marriage rulings in North Carolina’s federal courts, and the potential criminal law and other issues those rulings present for North Carolina magistrates. There have been a bevy of developments since, including a decision by the Sixth Circuit upholding a ban on same-sex marriage, apparently teeing the issue up for the Supreme Court, and a dispute between Senator Phil Berger and the Administrative Office of the Courts about whether magistrates may refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on sincerely-held religious beliefs. WRAL covers the latter story, including a link to the latest AOC letter on the issue, here. I also recommend my colleague Michael Crowell’s detailed exploration of the issue, here. But that’s far from the only big story of the week.

Yesterday was election day. This post summarizes results that are relevant to the criminal justice system.

Ah, Halloween. Spooks and ghouls and mostly baseless worry about criminal activity involving poisoned candy. Regular readers may recall that I blogged previously about the lack of actual episodes of adulterated candy, and about the laws that would apply if any such incident should occur.

Remember Shea’s post about same-sex marriage and how the AOC has advised magistrates that they could face criminal prosecution if they refused to marry same-sex couples? State Senator Phil Berger has announced plans to file a bill to allow officials with religious objections to opt out of performing such marriages. The News and Observer story about the matter makes clear that if such a bill is enacted, it will be challenged in court.

I would like to think that the blog is influential, but events this week called that hypothesis into question. Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens ruled that concealed handguns may be prohibited at the State Fair, notwithstanding my suggestion here that the better reading of the law is otherwise. The AP story is here. In other news:

Semi-retired faculty member Bob Farb has begun a new service that may be of interest to some readers. He is summarizing select published Fourth Circuit opinions. Generally, he will focus on criminal cases and civil cases that have a criminal law connection. For example, his first summary concerns Owens v. Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office, ___ F.3d ___, 2014 WL 4723803 (4th Cir. Sept. 24, 2014), a civil case filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging in part that law enforcement officers intentionally withheld exculpatory evidence in a murder case.

There was a lot of action at the United States Supreme Court this week. The new Term opened with Heien v. North Carolina, the burned-out brake light case where the legal issue is whether a traffic stop may be based on an officer’s reasonable mistake of law. The oral argument transcript is here, and a good recap of the issues on SCOTUSBlog is here. For those reading the tea leaves, SCOTUSBlog predicts that the Court will affirm the state supreme court and rule that a stop may be based on an officer’s reasonable mistake of law. The Court also heard a case about prison beard policies and religious rights, and granted certiorari on a case that asks whether an officer may extend a lawful traffic stop to ask a few off-topic questions or have a drug dog sniff the vehicle. I may post separately on the latter case. In other news:

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has stated that firearms, even those carried pursuant to a concealed carry permit, will be prohibited at the North Carolina State Fair, which opens next week. Grass Roots North Carolina, a gun-rights group, contends that the Commissioner’s policy is unlawful. In the post, I’ll explore the legal issue.

It has been a crazy week in Raleigh, what with the jail accidentally releasing an alleged sex offender, and a fracas unfolding over concealed carry at the upcoming State Fair. I’m planning to write a post next week on the latter issue, but today I’ve gathered important news about an upcoming Supreme Court case, surprising news about playoff baseball and crime rates, interesting news about sheriffs’ compensation, and an announcement about a new School of Government publication. Check it out!