Articles in the Uncategorized category - Page 91 of 153

Sports fans across the country were shocked this week to learn that for several years the FBI and federal prosecutors have been investigating what one prosecutor has described as “the dark underbelly of college basketball.”  As part of an investigation that may reveal widespread corruption, federal criminal complaints against several people associated with various college basketball teams were made public on Tuesday.  The story is complex and still developing, but a New York Times article says that “two broad schemes” have been alleged.  One involves assistant coaches who allegedly were bribed to persuade players to use certain financial advisors after turning pro.  The other involves Adidas secretly giving money to certain players and their families in exchange for the players’ commitments to play at Adidas-sponsored schools.  Keep reading for more news.

A group of district court judges gathered at the School last week for a class focused on the establishment of school justice partnerships, a central component of the Raise the Age legislation. The class was productive, but there was an elephant in the room that kept distracting everyone. If you’ve been keeping up with the General Assembly’s work over the past month, you likely can call the elephant by name.

Over the weekend a Georgia Tech student was shot and killed by a campus police officer in a tragic incident that set off protests on the school’s campus this week.  21-year-old student Scout Schultz was shot by 23-year-old campus police officer Tyler Beck on Saturday night.  Reports suggest that Schultz, who had some history of mental illness, may have orchestrated the shooting, reportedly calling 911 to falsely report an armed suspicious person and then advancing on responding officers while carrying a multi-tool and disregarding their orders to stop.  A few days after the shooting, a campus vigil held in remembrance of Shultz was followed by what has been described as a violent protest where a police car was set on fire and two officers were injured.   Keep reading for more news.

Last week we hosted nearly 30 mostly new attorneys for the Misdemeanor Defender program. The training takes place here every fall, and focuses on preparing attorneys for handling cases at the district court level. If you’d like to know more about our indigent defense education programs, jump to the end of this post to find out about available training materials and future trainings.

A shooting at a high school near Spokane, Washington, on Wednesday morning left one student dead and three others injured.  Caleb Sharpe, a sophomore at Freeman High School, is accused of killing fellow student Sam Strahan and wounding three other students.  Reportedly armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun, Sharpe is said to have opened fire in a hallway just before classes were scheduled to begin.  A report from local paper The Spokesman-Review says that Sharpe began the attack with the rifle, which soon jammed.  He then began firing the handgun before being tackled and disarmed by a school custodian.  The story was developing at the time of writing.  Keep reading for more news.

A Raleigh murder made national news this week with reports indicating that the suspect told a 911 dispatcher that taking too much cough medicine may have contributed to the killing.  Late last week, Matthew James Phelps was charged with murdering his wife, Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps.  According to WRAL, Matthew called 911 to report that he had awoken from a dream to discover that Lauren was dead and that he was covered in blood.  He also told the dispatcher that he had taken too much cough medicine, which he was using to help him sleep.  The News & Observer has a story here that explores whether an ingredient in cough medicine can cause hallucinations, psychosis, or violent behavior.  Keep reading for more news.

With Hurricane Harvey fresh in our minds, Hurricane Irma is bearing down on Florida. The storm could work its way up the coast to the Carolinas by early next week, possibly following a path similar to last year’s Hurricane Matthew or Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Governor Cooper has declared a state of emergency for all 100 counties, ordering state and local government entities to be prepared and temporarily suspending certain motor vehicle restrictions.

A question that sometimes arises when the government sets up emergency shelters is whether registered sex offenders may use them. The sheriff of Polk County, Florida, tweeted yesterday that registrants would not be allowed in shelters there. What is the law in North Carolina?

Are legal issues keeping you up at night? Have we got a program for you!  Let’s talk it out tomorrow during Office Hours at the Judicial College.

Though there is not an immediate connection to criminal law, a roundup of news of any sort this week would be incomplete without recognition of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.  As we all know, the storm brought relentless rain to southeastern Texas this week, causing unprecedented and ongoing flooding in the Houston area.  We commend the law enforcement officers, the first responders, the emergency management professionals, the government officials, and the private citizens who have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of their communities and neighbors.  Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the storm.  Keep reading for more news.

Reactions to the events in Charlottesville last week continue to dominate the news this week as confederate monuments across the nation come under renewed scrutiny.  A statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the entrance of Duke University Chapel over the weekend, and the Silent Sam statue on UNC’s campus was the focus of protests that garnered national attention.  Several protesters, including a UNC student, were arrested during the Silent Sam demonstration.  Over on the SOG’s Coates’ Canons blog, Adam Lovelady has a post discussing a North Carolina statute which limits the circumstances under which monuments may be removed from public property.  Once obscure, the statute now is one of the most widely analyzed laws in the state.  Keep reading for more news.