News Roundup
On Wednesday, Craig Stephen Hicks pleaded guilty to murdering Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha in a Chapel Hill home in February 2015; he received three consecutive life sentences. […]
Who Is a Minor in North Carolina?
Various criminal law provisions use the word “minor.” What is a minor?
Naming the Victim of a Sexual Assault
Suppose the State is prosecuting a defendant for the sexual assault of a young child. Though the child has been identified by name in the arrest warrant and investigative reports […]
Status and Authority of Off-Duty Officers
Jeff Welty blogged last week about State v. Capps, __ N.C. App. __, 2019 WL 2180435 (May 21, 2019). The central issue in that case was the state’s use of […]
Delays in Obtaining Search Warrants for Digital Devices
There have been several recent cases regarding delays in obtaining search warrants for digital devices that have been lawfully seized. For example, in United States v. Pratt, 915 F.3d 266 […]
News Roundup
The Gaston Gazette reports that Mark Carver has been granted a new trial after being convicted a decade ago of murdering UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmolenko. A superior court judge […]
Civil Settlements and Criminal Restitution
Can a criminal sentence include restitution to a victim who has already released the defendant from all damages in a related civil suit?
Court of Appeals Considers Propriety of Opinion Testimony Based on Crash Scene Investigation
May a law enforcement officer who personally investigates, but does not observe, a vehicle crash testify as to his opinion about who was driving the vehicle? Does the answer depend […]
The Statutory Law of Self-Defense in North Carolina
Several years ago (some might say that’s an understatement) I wrote The Law of Self-Defense in North Carolina, in which I looked at over 200 years’ worth of North Carolina […]
Court of Appeals “Capps” Prosecutors’ Use of Statements of Charges in Superior Court
The ability to file a misdemeanor statement of charges is a superpower for district court prosecutors, enabling them to overcome virtually any error in a criminal pleading with the stroke […]