North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

The National Center for State Courts recently published an Ignition Interlock Report reviewing the latest research on ignition interlock programs. Two of the studies cited reported efficacy rates striking enough to attract the attention of any policy wonk interested in highway safety.

In my last post, I discussed some of the reasons why stakeholders are interested in bail reform. In this one I explore some of the changes that are being implemented and evaluated.

Governor Roy Cooper announced this week that he will appoint North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Cheri Beasley to replace Mark Martin as Chief Justice when he steps down from the bench later this month.  She will be the first black woman to serve as Chief Justice in North Carolina.  Beasley has been on the Supreme Court since 2012, and prior to joining the court she served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and as a District Court Judge in Cumberland County.  Cooper will appoint another person to Beasley’s current seat at some point in the future.  Keep reading for more news.

As the News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer report, dozens of people across North Carolina have been arrested this week by federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers.  In Sanford, 27 people were arrested in a raid of Bear Creek Arsenal, a firearms manufacturer.  Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter said that the investigation at Bear Creek was focused on identity theft and fraud.  A few hours after the Sanford raid, undercover ICE agents arrested several people in a series of traffic stops in Charlotte.  ICE spokespersons said that the incidents were not part of a coordinated effort.  At the end of last year, ICE said that it planned to increase its presence in the Raleigh area in response to Wake Sheriff Gerald Baker’s decision to end the county’s cooperation with ICE detainer requests.

In self-defense cases, the defendant typically claims that the “victim” was actually the assailant and that the defendant needed to use force to defend himself, family, home, or other interests. Because of this role reversal, the rules of evidence allow the defendant to offer evidence to show that the victim was the assailant or at least that the defendant reasonably believed that the victim intended to do harm. In State v. Bass, ___ N.C. ___, 819 S.E.2d 322 (2018), the North Carolina Supreme Court clarified one form of evidence that a defendant may not offer about the victim in a self-defense case. This post reviews the evidence found impermissible in Bass as well as several types of evidence that remain permissible.

In recent years my work at the School has shifted to focus on criminal justice policy. As I work in this area, several issues keep percolating up and capturing interest from a wide swath of judicial system stakeholders. Two such issues pertain to the “front end” of the justice system: overcriminalization and bail reform; two pertain to the “back end” of the system: fines and fees and the criminal record and collateral consequences. Of course, these issues aren’t just of interest in North Carolina—they are grabbing attention across the nation. I’m thus delighted to have the opportunity to explore all four of them at North Carolina’s first Criminal Justice Summit. At the Summit national and state experts with broad-ranging ideological perspectives will discuss these four issues, exploring how they impact justice, public safety and economic prosperity in North Carolina, and whether there is common ground to address them.

The Greensboro News & Record reports that four jurors in a Guilford County murder trial were followed from a parking area to the courthouse by a man wearing all red clothing, a color associated with a gang.  In response to the incidents, Judge David Hall restricted the number of people who could be in the courtroom and ordered officers to be on the lookout for the man.  Richard Allen Williamson eventually was detained by courthouse security in the lobby of the building, identified by the jurors, and charged with obstruction of justice.  Keep reading for more news.

Many readers will by now have heard the news: Chief Justice Martin is stepping down to become the Dean of the Regent School of Law, a Christian law school in Virginia. This post looks back at his criminal justice legacy, and forward at the future of the court.

The ongoing federal government shutdown, now the longest in United States history, is undermining the FBI’s ability to protect the country from criminals and terrorists according to a report released this week by the FBI Agents Association.  Entitled “Voices from the Field,” the report contains stories from agents across the country that detail the effect of the shutdown on the FBI’s work.  Like other federal workers, agents currently are working without pay.  The president of the Agents Association, Thomas O’Connor, appeared on the NewsHour on Tuesday to discuss the report.  Keep reading for more news.

 Last week the Court of Appeals breathed new life into a decades-old law that requires district courts to refer juveniles who have been adjudicated delinquent, prior to disposition, to the area mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services director for an interdisciplinary evaluation if any evidence that the juvenile is mentally ill has been presented. This new decision, In the Matter of E.M., __ N.C.App. __ (January 15, 2019), raises many questions like, does it really mean any evidence of mental illness? And does it matter if the juvenile has already received mental health services? And who is the area mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services director anyways?