Controlled Buys, Middlemen, and Probable Cause
Last week, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina decided State v. Frederick, a case about whether a controlled purchase of drugs provided probable cause to issue a search warrant. […]
News Roundup
Seven inmates were killed and many others were wounded during a prison riot in South Carolina on Sunday night. Columbia newspaper The State reports that a disagreement over gang territory […]
Misdemeanor Prior Conviction Level
For felony sentencing, a defendant’s criminal history is scored as a “prior record level.” The analogous measure for misdemeanor sentencing is “prior conviction level.” There are important differences between the […]
State v. Fincher: No Foundation Required for DRE Testimony
The court of appeals held yesterday in State v. Fincher, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ____ (2018), that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it permitted […]
Shhhh! Whisper Stops and U.S. v. Bowman
I recently summarized a Fourth Circuit traffic stop case arising out of western North Carolina, U.S. v. Bowman, 884 F.3d 200 (4th Cir. 2018). It’s an interesting case in its […]
Search Warrants for Lawyers’ Offices
Last week, the FBI executed a search warrant at the office of Michael Cohen, a lawyer who has worked for President Trump. The Washington Post reports that Cohen is being […]
News Roundup
On Monday morning, the FBI executed a series of search warrants at the home, office, and hotel room of Michael Cohen, a personal attorney for President Donald Trump and a […]
Legal Financial Obligations Table
In my last post I wrote about some of the statutory options for providing relief from various criminal legal financial obligations. Several of my “friends” gave me a hard time […]
Surviving Your Next Sovereign Citizen
This scenario will sound familiar to many criminal attorneys: you’re in court, the DA calls the next case, and the judge asks John Q. Defendant how he pleads? “Your Honor, […]
GiveUNC: A Message from the Dean
Today’s post is a little bit different from our usual fare. It doesn’t analyze a recent case or answer a frequently asked question. Instead, it is a message from Mike […]