North Carolina Criminal Law

The lead story from last week’s news roundup is back again: Chapel Hill’s ban on using cell phones while driving. It appears from this News and Observer story that Superior […]

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Issues regarding the permissible scope of jury argument are becoming commonplace in N.C. criminal cases. In a series of posts, I’ll address some recurring issues that arise regarding the content […]

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It is still safe – legally speaking – to drive around Chapel Hill while talking on a cell phone. Recall that the town has banned cell phone usage while driving, […]

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Today, I wanted to note two timely and interesting items concerning the United States Supreme Court. First, the Court just granted certiorari in Chaidez v. United States, a case that […]

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This has been a busy but inspiring week for me, as we have had over 40 new prosecutors here at the School of Government for training. It is always a […]

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Last Friday, Cumberland County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks issued the first merits ruling on a claim under the Racial Justice Act (“RJA”), G.S. 15A-2010 et seq. Judge […]

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In a post here, Jeff wrote about the N.C. Court of Appeals decision in Kenton v. Kenton, holding that a consent domestic violence protective order (DVPO) lacking any finding that […]

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The trial of former Senator John Edwards has begun in federal court in Greensboro. In the federal cases I tried, jury selection took about as long as it takes me […]

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In Chapel Hill, the start of the John Edwards trial is big news. The News and Observer covers the beginning of jury selection here, and has an interesting story on […]

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Although the big news today in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case is that Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder, I want to focus on something that happened earlier in […]

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