February 19, 2021
A multi-state search for a woman wanted in connection with a January murder at a Hickory furniture plant is ongoing this week and a U.S. Marshal said that there is a good chance that the woman and her husband, who also is wanted on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact, are still in the greater Hickory area. Keep reading for more on this story and other news.
February 16, 2021
This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions decided in January 2021 by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which may be of interest to state practitioners (along with one from December that I missed before).
February 12, 2021
The Fayetteville Observer reports that Fayetteville law enforcement is asking the public for information about a disturbing series of burglaries in the city over the past few months. On several occasions, home security cameras have captured images of a masked person wearing kneepads burglarizing people’s homes while they slept inside. A police spokesman said that the suspect appears to be intentionally targeting the homes of elderly people. Keep reading for more news.
February 5, 2021
As USA Today reports, fallen United States Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed during a violent insurrection by extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump in early January, laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday before his interment at Arlington National Cemetery. Sicknick is the third Capitol Police officer to receive that honor, the first two being Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson who were shot by an armed intruder in 1998. Keep reading for more news.
February 4, 2021
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on February 2, 2021. Gabrielle Supak and Jamie Markham prepared these summaries. As always, they will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
February 3, 2021
We have issued a series of reports on North Carolina state and county-level jail occupancy rates, including one in October 2020 focusing on changes in total county and statewide jail occupants during the COVID-19 pandemic (our earlier reports are here, here and here). This report provides updated jail population numbers through November 2020. Please refer to our prior reports for information on data sources and calculations.
January 29, 2021
WNCT reports that the Greenville Police Department and the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department, in partnerships with Integrated Family Services, will soon launch Co-Responder Mental Health Response Programs. Under the GPD program, which starts next week, IFS professionals will work directly out of police headquarters and respond alongside law enforcement officers to situations involving possible mental health crises. The GPD program, which will be the first of its kind in eastern North Carolina, will begin next week, and the program at the Sheriff’s Department will begin later this spring. Keep reading for more news.
January 26, 2021
The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act (JJRA), which raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to include youth who commit offenses at ages 16 and 17, went into effect on December 1, 2019. What impacts have been realized in the juvenile justice system as a result? The Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee (JJAC), created by the JJRA, submitted its required interim report to the General Assembly on January 15, 2021. The report provides many details about the first year of implementation as well as JJAC recommendations for legislative amendments and ongoing budgetary needs. This blog provides a summary of some of the trends during the first year of raise the age implementation as detailed in the report.
January 22, 2021
The Greensboro News & Record reports that Christopher Spencer of Pilot Mountain has become the first North Carolinian to face federal charges in connection with the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol earlier this month. The report says that Spencer has been charged with obstructing official proceedings, unlawful entry, and disorderly conduct. Investigators apparently were aided by Facebook livestreams Spencer allegedly posted showing him encouraging others to kick open doors in the building and yelling obscenities at police officers. His father Winston Spencer told the News & Record that his son’s participation in the incident “has been blown out of proportion.” Keep reading for more news.
January 20, 2021
Recently questions came to me and my SOG criminal law colleagues about the crime of burglary in North Carolina that made it clear some readers would benefit from a discussion of statutory versus common law definitions of criminal offenses, as well as how to research legislative history. I will address these two issues using one scenario across a couple of blog posts. I hope these posts will help in interpreting and understanding statutes.