A UNC School of Government Blog
There have been several interesting criminal law new stories this week. I want to focus mainly on one with a local connection, but I’ll note briefly this New York Times article that describes some research suggesting that probation and parole violations should be more frequent, more immediate, and less harsh; this Wired magazine article that … Read more
Regular readers know that I have a particular interest in the intersection of new technologies and criminal law. But I am not the only person at the School of Government interested in this topic. My colleague Cheryl Howell recently taught a session on electronic evidence — essentially, how the rules of evidence apply to things … Read more
Last April, I wrote a post touching on the sentence reduction credit rules applicable to DWI inmates. In short, DWI inmates fall under the same “good time” credit rules applicable to certain pre–Structured Sentencing inmates: one day of credit for every day served in custody without an infraction of inmate conduct rules. In other words, … Read more
Consider the following excerpts from a penalty phase closing argument in a capital case: “[D]on’t look to [the defendant] for sympathy, because he demands none. And, ladies and gentlemen, when you turn and look at [the defendant], don’t look for good deeds, because he has done none. Don’t look for good thoughts, because he has … Read more
Jeff Welty blogged here about inconsistent verdicts. As he explained, a defendant generally isn’t entitled to relief from inconsistent verdicts, which may result from jury irrationality, a jury’s desire to cut the defendant a break, or some other unknown reason. The defendant is protected by the court’s review of whether substantial evidence supports the charge … Read more
There’s been lots of interesting criminal law news in the last week or so. 1. Duke University researchers are all over the death penalty debate. According to this News and Observer story, Duke economist Philip Cook has concluded that North Carolina would save $11 million per year by eliminating the death penalty. Meanwhile, Duke sociologists … Read more
Earlier this week, the court of appeals decided State v. Simmons, a search and seizure case that should interest officers, lawyers, and judges. The facts are simple: an officer stopped a driver for not wearing his seat belt. It turned out the the driver’s license was revoked, so the officer cited the driver for that, … Read more
In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachussetts, the United States Supreme Court held that forensic laboratory reports—such as those identifying a substance as a controlled substance—are testimonial and subject to the new Crawford Confrontation Clause rule. For more detail on that decision, you can review a paper posted here. Under the Crawford rule, testimonial statements by declarants who … Read more
Sometimes, a defendant is charged under the wrong name. This usually happens when the defendant gives a false name upon arrest. When this is discovered, what should be done? There are two options. First, the state can dismiss the case, re-charge the defendant under the correct name, and encourage the person whose name was used … Read more
Defendants often stipulate to prior convictions for the purpose of establishing their prior record level. Form AOC-CR-600, the prior record level/prior conviction level worksheet, includes a section (Section III, at the top of Side Two) to note that that stipulation. The court of appeals said in State v. Hussey, __ N.C. App. __ (2008), that … Read more