Recent blog posts - 162 of 397

Like most of the rest of the country, I followed the recent confirmation hearings for Judge (now Justice) Kavanaugh with great interest.

As the readers of this blog already know, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Much of her testimony recounted her recollection of that event, but some of her testimony was of a different nature. In addition to telling the Committee what she recalled, Dr. Ford also described the biological and chemical processes of memory itself, such as the way that neurotransmitters encode memories into the hippocampus.

In other words, Dr. Ford testified in dual roles: she was both a fact witness and a de facto expert witness.

Most of us will never participate in a Supreme Court confirmation hearing, but a similar type of dual testimony can arise in criminal trials in state court, and it raises some interesting issues.

More than 200 district court judges from districts across North Carolina convened last week for their semiannual conference. Much of the continuing education agenda was dedicated to informing judges about the controlling law for the types of cases over which they preside—criminal, family and juvenile. But one session had a different focus. Instead of teaching judges how to “get outcomes right,” Judges Kevin Burke and Steve Leben talked to the group about how to handle procedural matters in a “way that enhances perceptions of fair treatment.” Kevin Burke & Steve Leben, The Evolution of the Trial Judge from Counting Case Dispositions to a Commitment to Fairness, 18 Widener L. J. 397, 403-04 (2009) [hereinafter Evolution]. The presenters made the case that institutionalizing principles and practices of procedural fairness can increase public support for and confidence in the courts, leading to greater acceptance of court decisions, greater public approval of the court system and increased compliance with court orders.

G.S. 90-108(a)(7) makes it a crime to maintain a store, dwelling, vehicle, boat, or other place for the use, storage, or sale of controlled substances. My NC Crimes book states the elements of the offense:

A person guilty of this offense

(1) knowingly

(2) keeps or maintains

(3) a store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or other place

(4) (a) being resorted to by persons unlawfully using controlled substances

     (b) being used for unlawfully keeping or selling controlled substances.

As the New York Times reports, seven law enforcement officers from Florence, South Carolina, were shot on Wednesday as they attempted to serve a search warrant.  One officer was killed.  Many of the details of the incident were unclear at the time of this writing, but it appears that the suspect, Fred Hopkins, opened fire with a high powered rifle from a tactically advantageous position, requiring that officers in the line of fire be rescued with a hardened military-style vehicle.  The Charlotte Observer says that the officer who was killed, detective Terrence Carraway, spent 30 years with the Florence Police Department, was an Air Force veteran, and was known among his colleagues as the bravest officer on the force.  Keep reading for more news.

The murders in London in 1888, attributed to Jack the Ripper, were bloody and bizarre. The Ripper tour the students and I took, graphically narrated by our guide, was stomach turning. The murders involved not only the slashing of several women’s throats but also the removal of their internal organs, including their uteruses. These grisly murders drew widespread public attention (and continue to fascinate people today). Why were such horrific crimes the subject of so much interest?

Legislation that will come into effect on December 1, 2018, made some changes related to drug trafficking.

Last week, I blogged about the lack of a statute of limitations for felony offenses in North Carolina. There is, of course, a two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanors, a matter that has been the subject of a fair amount of recent litigation. A reader posed an excellent question at the end of that post:  Is the statute of limitations a defense that may be waived or does a trial court lack jurisdiction over a time-barred offense?

While most news outlets focus on whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, the Court has quietly kicked off a new Term. What criminal law cases does the Court have in store?

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Judge Brett Kavanaugh by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was the major news of the week.  Both Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford testified before the committee, with Kavanaugh flatly denying the alleged assault and Blasey Ford declaring that she was certain that Kavanaugh attacked her.  Republican committee members ceded their time for questioning to Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell while Democrats questioned Blasey Ford directly.  That approach resulted in an unusual proceeding that sharply alternated in five minute segments between a trial-like examination of Blasey Ford and a more traditional Senate committee hearing.  Keep reading for more news.

Our trip to Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in London, did not disappoint. It is physically stunning, a collection of beautiful courtyards and historic buildings. As important, it is a center of education, activity, chambers (law offices), and support for legal professionals. Plus, if you’re a member or a lucky guest, you get to eat in the Middle Temple “cafeteria”: