Latest posts in category Uncategorized on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that drug overdose deaths in the U.S. declined significantly in 2024 as compared to 2023, reaching their lowest levels since 2019. Experts from the CDC state that increased funding from Congress has enhanced their ability to collect and analyze data, which in turn has allowed for more targeted and effective prevention efforts. Deaths from fentanyl fell by approximately 37%, while deaths from cocaine and psychostimulants also declined significantly. The declines were consistent across virtually all geographic regions.

Some experts attribute the changing trend to wider availability of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone as well as stepped-up treatment. Others contend the decline stems more from fewer people getting addicted in the first place.

Despite the encouraging news, drug overdoses remain the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 18 and 44.

Read on for more criminal law news.

The Alabama Governor signed legislation on Tuesday, establishing a new shark alert system that warns beachgoers when a shark has bitten someone in the vicinity. The system will issue a public notice to cellphones along the Alabama coast when there’s been a shark attack nearby. The law, named the “Lulu Gribbin Shark Alert System Act,” was inspired by a teenager who was one of three people bitten by a shark during a string of attacks last year. She lost her left hand and a portion of her right leg in the attack.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will create rules for the new alert system. Read on for more news.

The top national story this week is that the Supreme Court just heard oral argument in a case involving a shocking error by law enforcement. In 2017, an FBI SWAT team smashed its way into an Atlanta home and discharged a flashbang grenade in a pre-dawn raid. I believe the technical term for what happened is that they scared the bejeezus out of the couple and young child who were sleeping there . . . only to find out that they had entered the wrong residence. The warrant authorizing the intrusion was for 3741 Landau Lane, but they had entered 3756 Denville Trace. The residents sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the government contended that something called the “discretionary function exception” barred recovery, and lower courts ruled for the government. The Supreme Court granted review and heard arguments this week. According to SCOTUSblog, the Court “was sympathetic” to the residents but the outcome of the case remains unclear. Read on for more news.

The top story this week is that country music star Jelly Roll has been recommended for a pardon by a Tennessee parole board. NBC has the story, as well as ABC and the AP. The singer, whose legal name is Jason B. Deford, 40, was convicted in 2008 of robbery and drug possession. He was released in 2016 and struggled to succeed as a musician before earning four Grammy Award nominations in February. Davidson County, TN, Sheriff Daron Hall asked Governor Bill Lee to pardon Jelly Roll last year, and the parole board’s vote on Tuesday was part of that mission. The matter is now pending before the governor. Read on for more criminal law news.

Does the law regarding motor vehicle seizure when a person is charged with felony speeding to elude arrest or an offense involving impaired driving apply to juveniles? If the case is subject to original juvenile jurisdiction, the answer is no. Read on to understand why that is and what to do if a seizure order is improperly issued.

Three chapters in the criminal law section of the Superior Court Judges’ Benchbook recently have been updated. Among those chapters is Joinder and Severance, which addresses the joinder and severance of […]

A couple of weeks ago, the Supreme Court decided Bondi v. VanDerStok, 604 U.S. __ (2025). It is an administrative law case, not a Second Amendment case, but folks interested in firearms law will still want to know about it. The media has generally described this case as allowing the ATF to ban “ghost guns,” which is not exactly wrong but also is not precise. Read on for more details.

A woman was babysitting a child near Great Bend, Kansas, when the child she was watching complained of a monster under the bed. Seeking to assuage the child’s fear, the babysitter checked under the bed only to find a man hiding there. After a tussle with the babysitter, the man left the home and evaded capture until the next day, when local deputies located and arrested him. The man had recently posted bond on charges of threat crimes, domestic violence, and violating a protective order. He is now being held on no bond and is facing burglary, aggravated assault, and child endangerment charges. The AP has the story, here. Read on for more criminal law news.

On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court held in a 5-1 opinion that the odor of marijuana alone isn’t a sufficient reason for police to conduct a warrantless search of a car. In 2018, the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by people who are at least 21 years old became legal. However, the law specifies that marijuana cannot be used while operating a vehicle.

In the opinion, Justice Megan Cavanagh notes that “the smell of marijuana might just as likely indicate that the person is in possession of a legal amount of marijuana, recently used marijuana legally, or was simply in the presence of someone else who used marijuana” and that the smell “no longer constitutes probable cause sufficient to support a search for contraband.”

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently published a report addressing “unprecedented challenges” facing juries and jury trials. The report opined that these challenges include both affirmative attacks on juries and jury trials due to unpopular verdicts as well as enervation on the part of the public regarding civil engagement generally and jury service specifically. Follow-on effects are an erosion of public trust in the jury system and jury pools that are less representative of the communities from which they are selected, according to the report’s authors. The report also highlighted the decline in the number of jury trials in criminal and civil cases, which it said meant that younger lawyers gain less trial experience. The authors posited that when those lawyers become trial judges, they are less prepared to oversee jury trials, creating a “feedback loop . . . leading to even fewer trials and greater pressure to settle or plea bargain cases.” The overarching identified concern was that the jury system might become a “marginalized part of the justice system, with fewer people participating and less public trust in the outcomes.” The report went on to identify four critical vulnerabilities related to the future of juries and jury trials and recommended strategies to address them.