A UNC School of Government Blog
Dear Friends,
I am writing to let you know of some changes in the work we do at the School of Government for defenders and others who work in the North Carolina court system. The short version is this: I will go half-time beginning July 1 this year; the School intends to hire a new faculty member to work in criminal law, with a focus on issues affecting defenders; and Phil Dixon will become the director of the Public Defense Education program at the School. Read on for more details.
Determination of the correct disposition level available in a delinquency case requires a four-step process.
WRAL reports here on renovations at the State Crime Laboratory. The renovations, supported by a $5 million appropriation, include “a new design for the Drug, Chemistry and Toxicology wing” that allows more space for analysts and scientific work. The idea is to improve workflow and reduce backlogs – a goal on which virtually everyone can agree. Keep reading for more news.
Suppose that a defendant is charged with possessing fentanyl with the intent to sell it. The state’s evidence includes a Facebook direct message, purportedly from the defendant to an informant, saying “just got some China Girl, you want any?” An officer took a photograph of the direct message as it appeared on the informant’s smartphone, and everyone is satisfied that the photograph fairly and accurately depicts the message. But the defendant objects to the introduction of the message on the grounds that there’s no way to be sure that he wrote it. How might the state respond?
A 21-year-old Massachusetts man has been arrested in connection with the recent leak of classified documents concerning the war in Ukraine. His name is Jack Teixeira, and he is an IT specialist and a member of the Air National Guard. WRAL reports here that “Attorney General Merrick Garland said he is to be charged with removing or transmitting classified national defense information, a crime under the Espionage Act.” Keep reading for more news.
The UNC School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab frequently gets questions from stakeholders about the scope of pretrial supervision & support services across the state. We are hoping to compile information about the availability of different pretrial supervision & support services, including programs like GPS monitoring, case management, completing risk assessments, and more. Please … Read more
When a defendant is charged with a crime involving the possession of a controlled substance, what kind of knowledge or intent must the prosecution show? Must the state prove that the defendant knew that he or she possessed the substance? That the defendant knew that the substance was legally controlled? That the defendant knew the particular identity of the substance? Given the proliferation of controlled substances and the fact that many cannot be distinguished without laboratory equipment, these are important questions.
Sadly, this week’s news was dominated by yet another mass school shooting. Three nine-year-old students and three staff members at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, were killed Monday morning by a lone shooter, who entered the school armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun. Police shot and killed the suspect, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student at the school.
The Associated Press reports that before Monday, there had been seven mass killings at K-12 schools since 2006. In each of those, the shooter was male. Hale, who was assigned female gender at birth, reportedly used he/him pronouns on social media.
Police say that Hale planned the massacre, drawing out a detailed map and surveilling the building. Hale, who was under a doctor’s care for an emotional disorder, bought seven firearms from five local gun stores between October 2020 and June 2022. Hale used three of them in Monday’s shooting.
The short answer is no. There is no specific legal requirement to enter a disposition in a delinquency matter in a certain period of time. At the same time, the law does provide some context on moving efficiently to disposition, including the ability, in certain circumstances, to appeal an adjudication before a disposition has been entered. This blog explains that context.
Today is GiveUNC – a single day of giving during which the UNC School of Government reaches out to current and past donors, course participants, and – you – loyal readers of the North Carolina Criminal Law Blog.
Please consider making a gift of any amount to the School to support its efforts — including this blog — to better the lives of North Carolinians through practical scholarship and advising.
