North Carolina Criminal Law

April 2 Emergency Directives Require Continuances, Authorize Remote Proceedings, and Extend Time to Pay

April 6, 2020 Shea Denning

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley entered an order last Thursday, April 2, 2020, imposing emergency directives that were immediately effective and that affect criminal cases.

Legal authority. The Chief Justice’s order was entered pursuant to G.S. 7A-39(b)(2), which permits the Chief Justice, after determining or declaring that catastrophic conditions exist in one or more counties of the state, to issue emergency directives necessary to ensure the continuing operation of essential trial or appellate court functions. Such directives are effective notwithstanding any other provision of law.

News Roundup

April 3, 2020 Christopher Tyner

As WLOS reports, a man who fired shots at a law enforcement officer in downtown Asheville on Tuesday morning was shot and killed by deputies who were at the Buncombe County Courthouse and responded to the nearby scene. Shane Tilman Kent was killed after shooting a 9mm handgun from inside a parked vehicle near the courthouse. One sheriff’s office lieutenant involved in the incident sustained injuries to his arm, either from a bullet or broken glass from the car Kent was in when he was shot. The SBI now is assisting in the investigation. Keep reading for more news.

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – March 2020

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020 Phil Dixon

This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in March, 2020. Decisions of interest to state practitioners will be posted on a monthly basis. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit criminal and related decisions can be found here.

Sentencing Health Control Measures

April 1, 2020 Jamie Markham

Whenever I teach about Structured Sentencing, I usually start by saying that the law covers most North Carolina crimes, with a few exceptions. Capital felonies and violent habitual felons have their own sentencing rules. And of course so does impaired driving. But a final exception carved out of Structured Sentencing in G.S. 15A-1340.10 is G.S. 130A-25, failure to comply with health control measures. I don’t typically spend much time on those rules, though, as there are only a handful of convictions under them in the state each year (seven in 2019). Now seemed like a good time to take a look.

Stay-At-Home Orders, Charges, and Stops

April 2, 2020March 31, 2020 Shea Denning

The Governor ordered individuals in North Carolina to stay at home and non-essential business operations to cease beginning at 5 p.m. Monday, March 30, 2020. The order, Executive Order No. 121, remains in effect for thirty days from that date. Here are a few things to know about the order and its enforcement.

Schalow II and Dismissal for Failure to Join Offenses

January 12, 2022March 30, 2020 Phil Dixon

On Jan. 7, 2020, the Court of Appeals decided State v. Schalow (“Schalow II”), ___ N.C. App. ___, 837 S.E.2d 593, temp. stay allowed, ___ N.C. ___, 837 S.E.2d 123 (Jan. 27, 2020), ruling that the State’s third prosecution of the defendant was vindictive and violated the rules for joinder of offenses. I previously wrote about the Court of Appeals decision in Schalow I regarding a double jeopardy issue (on which the defendant also prevailed), here. The vindictive prosecution holding of Schalow II is itself significant, and I encourage everyone to read the opinion in full for that part of the case alone. In this post, though, I wanted to focus on the joinder issue. This issue in the Schalow II opinion represents the first time that our appellate division has ever granted relief for a joinder of offenses violation.

News Roundup

March 27, 2020 Christopher Tyner

Again this week the coronavirus pandemic was the dominant news story across the nation, with many communities around North Carolina issuing stay at home orders directing residents to avoid leaving their homes except for essential activities. We continue to be grateful for the efforts of North Carolinians on the front lines of the pandemic – healthcare providers, emergency responders, law enforcement, state and local government officials and employees, and those who work in essential businesses. Keep reading for more news.

FAQs about Coronavirus and the Correctional System

March 26, 2020 Jamie Markham

Today’s post shares my answers to some of the questions I have been asked related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the correctional system. As you might imagine, many of those questions are focused on ways to reduce jail and prison populations.

North Carolina County-Level Criminal Charging Data

March 25, 2020 Jessica Smith

We have produced a variety of reports providing criminal justice stakeholders with key metrics to help them understand and evaluate their local criminal justice systems. Among other things, we have produced statewide and county level data on use of citations by law enforcement officers, use of summonses and warrants by magistrates, imposition of different types of conditions of pretrial release, and local jail occupancy numbers. In this report, we provide statewide and county level information on number of criminal charges, charged defendants, and criminal cases. As with our other reports, we make no judgment about the data presented; our goal simply is to provide data to inform stakeholders. Our full spreadsheet of results (here) has three main tabs showing data for (1) all offenses; (2) felonies; and (3) misdemeanors. Two additional tabs break down misdemeanor offenses into non-traffic misdemeanors and traffic misdemeanors. Each tab presents the following information at the state and county level:

Total charged offenses
Charged offenses per 100,000 population
Total charged defendants
Total charged cases
Changes in these data points, from 2018 to 2019

COVID-19 and Delinquency Continued Custody Hearings

March 24, 2020 Jacquelyn Greene

As we all come to terms with the new reality of social distancing and a global pandemic, the potential health risks for youth and staff in secure custody settings is cause for concern. Staff in a New York City juvenile detention center have already tested positive for COVID-19. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety has suspended visitation and volunteer activities at all juvenile justice facilities. Currently legal visits for juveniles in secure custody are still allowed. These heightened concerns about secure confinement of youth raise questions about whether and how ongoing secure custody hearings can happen in our current environment and what alternatives exist to both preserve public safety and prevent use of the congregate juvenile detention setting as much as possible. This blog will discuss when hearings on continued secure custody must be held, even in light of the emergency directive; important considerations if those hearings are conducted remotely; and the range of release options available to the court.