What Everyone Needs to Know about Knock and Talks
Knock and talks are a common, useful, and sometimes controversial law enforcement tool. I thought that I would put together a post that summarizes the principal legal issues that they […]
News Roundup
As the News Roundup previously has noted, former Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene is facing federal fraud and embezzlement charges related to allegations that she misused county funds for personal […]
“Revoking” Deferral Probation
Do the Justice Reinvestment Act’s limitations on a judge’s authority to revoke probation apply in deferred prosecution and conditional discharge cases? Defendants can be placed on probation as part of […]
Does a No Contact Order Apply While the Defendant Is in Jail?
When setting conditions of pretrial release in domestic violence cases, magistrates and judges often order a defendant not to contact the victim. Those directives clearly apply to a defendant once […]
Some Clarity on Self-Defense and Unintended Injuries
Earlier this year, in State v. Gomola, ___ N.C. App. ___, 810 S.E.2d 797 (Feb. 6, 2018), the Court of Appeals addressed a self-defense issue that has sometimes puzzled the […]
Even When the Controlled Buys Happen at the Back Door, Knock and Talks Must Happen at the Front Door
I’ve blogged before about whether law enforcement officers may go to a side door, or the back door, when attempting to conduct a knock-and-talk. The court of appeals just decided […]
News Roundup
Film producer Harvey Weinstein was indicted this week in Manhattan on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act. The indictments relate to incidents that occurred in 2004 and 2013 […]
Limits on PJCs
Judges can continue prayer for judgment in any case. Except when they can’t.
Collins v. Virginia: Supreme Court Directs Traffic at the Intersection of the Automobile Exception and Searches of the Home
An officer sees a motorcycle that he has probable cause to believe is stolen parked in the suspect’s driveway. The motorcycle is partially covered by a tarpaulin. May the officer […]
News Roundup
Late last week a familiar national tragedy played out in Santa Fe, Texas, where a teenager, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, went to his high school armed with a shotgun and a pistol […]