Adult Protection Multidisciplinary Team Workshop: Apply Now!
If you’re working to protect vulnerable adults in your community, you know how important it is to have the right people at the table to provide effective and efficient solutions. […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during May 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]
How Far May Law Enforcement Officers Go in Misleading Suspects During Interrogations?
Law enforcement officers may mislead suspects during questioning. For example, an officer may falsely tell a suspect that an accomplice has confessed, or may falsely state that incriminating physical evidence […]
News Roundup
The Trump administration sued the state of New York on Thursday over a law that blocks immigration officials from arresting people at New York courthouses, saying it purposely shields dangerous […]
An Update on Twenty-Five Year Reviews of Life Sentences
Under G.S. 15A-1380.5, a law that existed from late 1994 to late 1998, North Carolina defendants sentenced to life without parole for offenses committed between October 1, 1994, and November […]
New Statewide Report with Recommendations to Improve Court Appearance Issues
In May, the North Carolina Statewide Court Appearance Project Committee released their Final Report with recommendations to promote court appearance and provide alternative responses to missed appearances. The Committee included […]
Accomplices in Error: Improper Argument in State v. Meadows
The defendant in State v. Meadows, No. COA24-149 (N.C. Ct. App. May 7, 2025), was convicted of murder based on evidence that he and two other men broke into the […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (June 4, 2025)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on June 4, 2025. Previously, summaries were added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, but due […]
News Roundup
Multiple acts of mass violence plagued the country this week. In Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, a man attacked a group of people demonstrating on behalf of Israeli hostages held by […]
State v. Chambers and the Substitution and Discharging of Alternate Jurors Pursuant to G.S. 15A-1215(a)
Criminal law practitioners may recall that in 2021 the General Assembly amended G.S. 15A-1215(a) to permit the substitution of an alternate juror after deliberations have begun in a criminal trial. […]