North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

The popularity of electric bicycles (e-bikes) has surged across the country, from city streets to suburban trails. Their increased popularity has led to uncertainty and confusion in definition and regulation. Are e-bikes truly bicycles? Or are they motorcycles? Are they different from mopeds? Do you need a license to ride one? Who can regulate their use? Buyers, riders, and local officials are tasked with distinguishing between bicycles, e-bikes, electric mopeds, and electric motorcycles. Their classification matters because it can carry different legal implications. This post explores the current state of electric assisted transportation, examines how these vehicles are classified under current law, and discusses the rules that apply to their use. Read on for more details.

After the recent passage of HB 307, “Iryna’s Law,” questions are arising about whether executions will restart in North Carolina after a 19-year hiatus. Though the death penalty has been on the books during this period, legal challenges and practical issues have prevented the death penalty from being imposed.

The main change in the new law is that it allows for execution by electrocution and lethal gas. The law also directs officials to find a method other than lethal injection if lethal injection is declared unconstitutional by a state court or is otherwise unavailable. Some wonder whether North Carolina will join five other states in allowing execution by firing squad (the AP relates the history of this method here). Some experts are skeptical that these new provisions will result in the death penalty being imposed, however, given pending challenges under the Racial Justice Act as well as other appellate and post-conviction proceedings. Court orders entered at the superior court level in 2014 and 2019 have also suspended executions until litigation pertaining to the constitutionality of the method and the RJA is resolved.

Read on for more criminal law (and Halloween) news.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a focal point for policy debates, legal disputes, and legislative action over the past year, both in North Carolina and across the United States. […]

The 2024 Annual Report issued by the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) includes descriptive information related to the processing of cases in the juvenile justice system and the use of facilities that serve juveniles.  Highlights include a notable increase in motor vehicle-related property offenses and increased demand for capacity in juvenile detention facilities. This post explores these highlights. All the data included below comes from the 2024 Annual Report unless otherwise noted.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) prohibits the possession of firearms by a person who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” Is that constitutional as to a regular marijuana user who is not impaired at the time he possesses a gun? Last week, the Supreme Court granted review in a case that presents that question. The answer has implications for state court, as explained below.

Thieves broke into a gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris early Sunday morning, stole some of France’s priceless crown jewels, and escaped on scooters, as reported by the BBC and the NYT. Around 9:30 a.m. (local time), shortly after the museum had opened to visitors, four masked thieves used a vehicle-mounted electric ladder to gain access to a balcony overlooking the River Seine. Two thieves cut through a window with a disc cutter – setting off security alarms – and entered the Galerie d’Apollon, where they threatened security guards and stole items from two display cases. The thieves snatched eight objects, including a sapphire necklace, an emerald necklace, and a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. Read on for more criminal law news.

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions released by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on October 17, 2025.

NBC has this article up about the top national criminal law story of the moment. It notes that “[a] federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday, making him the third critic of President Donald Trump to face criminal charges in recent weeks.” The article goes on to state that “Bolton was indicted in federal court in Maryland, where he lives and where prosecutors have been investigating whether he improperly retained classified materials after his acrimonious departure from the first Trump administration. The indictment charges him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.” The transmission counts apparently are based on Bolton sending diary-style materials to two relatives. Bolton’s legal team contends that he is innocent and has been unfairly targeted based on his acrimonious relationship with President Trump.

Earlier this month, the School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab released our final report evaluating the Burlington Police Department’s mental health co-responder program. This report is the culmination of a two-year partnership between the School, the Burlington Police Department, RHA Health Services, and the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. The evaluation speaks to the impact of the co-responder program on the police department, the clients served, and the broader community. We also included recommendations on data collection for other agencies that may be interested to conduct similar evaluations. This post summarizes the findings and the recommendations.

I recently completed a new paper on contracts between cities and sheriffs for law enforcement services. It is available here.

Dozens of North Carolina municipalities have decided not to operate their own police departments, and instead have entered into contracts with their local sheriffs’ offices for designated levels of law enforcement services. There are plusses and minuses to such arrangements, which the paper details. It also notes some of the terms that parties considering such contracts may wish to include, and discusses the formalities required for each side to enter into such agreements.