Last week the News Roundup noted that the U.S. Department of Justice was set to resume executions of death row inmates following a 17-year hiatus. After the Supreme Court lifted injunctions issued by lower federal court judges, two executions were carried out at a prison in Indiana this week. A third is scheduled for today. Keep reading for more on this story and other news.
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Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2020)
This post summaries published criminal and related decisions decided by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in June, 2020.
Invitation to NC Police Departments: Apply Now for The Citation Project
On July 15th, the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police (NCACP) invited its members to apply to serve as pilot sites for a new project supporting evidence-based policing practices. Executed by the UNC School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab (CJIL) and the NCACP, The Citation Project seeks to improve policing practices through implementation and rigorous evaluation of a model citation in lieu of arrest policy. The project has three components: (1) developing a model citation in lieu of arrest policy; (2) selecting North Carolina police departments to serve as pilot sites and supporting their implementation of the model policy; and (3) conducting an empirical evaluation to assess impact on core criminal justice metrics.
2020 Motor Vehicle Legislation of Interest — To Me and the Kids
It is somewhat rare for one of my children to know more about recently enacted legislation than I do. But it happened a few weeks ago when the General Assembly adopted legislation that allows my sixteen-year-old to get his driver’s license without taking a road test. This post will cover that legislation and other recent amendments to the state’s motor vehicle laws.
News Roundup
As the Winston-Salem Journal reports, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neil announced this week that five former detention officers and a nurse have been charged with involuntary manslaughter following the death of John Neville at the Forsyth County Detention Center in December. The announcement of the charges came the day before an autopsy report was released that said that Neville’s death was caused in part by a restraint technique used by detention officers while Neville was in the midst of a medical emergency. Five people were arrested for impeding traffic at a protest outside the detention center on Wednesday where they were calling for the release of video footage of the events surrounding Neville’s death. Keep reading for more on this story and other news.
Case Summaries – North Carolina Court of Appeals (July 7, 2020)
This post summarizes published criminal opinions of the Court of Appeals decided on July 7, 2020.
The North Carolina First Step Act
A new law provides a limited possibility of sentencing and post-conviction relief for certain defendants convicted of drug trafficking.
A Second Chance in North Carolina through Expanded Criminal Record Clearance
North Carolina continues to make gradual strides in helping people clear their criminal records and enhance their opportunities going forward. On June 25, 2020, the Governor signed the Second Chance Act, S.L. 2020-35 (S 562), which passed the General Assembly unanimously. The Second Chance Act expands expunction opportunities and streamlines the process for people trying to clear their records. The product of negotiation and compromise, it reflects the interests of prosecutors, law enforcement, and court administrators as well. The act illustrates many of the record clearance issues being considered around the country, including automatic expunction of nonconviction records (to begin in North Carolina at the end of 2021), removal of barriers to expunctions of nonconviction records (most notably, no longer will prior convictions, whether for a felony or misdemeanor, be a bar), somewhat greater opportunities to expunge older convictions if “nonviolent,” and greater access by prosecutors and law enforcement to expunged case information. This summary does not try to explore the many nooks and crannies in the legislation. It is a first pass at describing the changes.
PDDs: Coming Soon to a Street Near You
What’s three feet long, two feet wide, weighs a few hundred pounds and can drive itself down a street or sidewalk to deliver cargo?
New Month Brings New Emergency Directives
The Chief Justice entered her first emergency order to address catastrophic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak on March 13, 2020. More than three months (and many orders) later, those catastrophic conditions remain. So, as we prepare to enter a new month in COVID-season, the Chief Justice yesterday issued two new orders extending and modifying earlier directives.
The first June 29, 2020 order, which will not be discussed further here, modifies and extends Emergency Directive 18, which imposes procedural requirements in eviction proceedings. The second June 29, 2020 order modifies and extends Emergency Directives 2 through 8. Two of these extended directives directly impact criminal cases: Emergency Directive 3, which authorizes judicial officials to conduct proceedings that include remote audio and video transmissions, notwithstanding any other provision of law; and Emergency Directive 7, which delays the reporting of a failure to comply based upon nonpayment of monies owed in a criminal or infraction case. 