News Roundup
We have covered the extensive post-conviction and appellate proceedings of Richard Glossip’s death sentence many times before on the blog (most recently here). Glossip has been on death row in […]
Can Law Enforcement Review Ankle Monitor Location Data Without a Warrant?
Last September, the Court of Appeals decided State v. Thomas, No. COA23-210, __ N.C. App. __ (2024), a case involving law enforcement’s retrieval of ankle monitor location data gathered while […]
New Juvenile Capacity Law: Court Forms and Forensic Evaluators
Beginning with offenses committed on or after January 1, 2025, new laws are in effect regarding the standard and procedures for addressing juvenile capacity to proceed. The new statutes can […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Feb. 19, 2025)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on February 19, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
News Roundup
Seven men are charged with stealing millions from the homes of six professional athletes across the country, as reported by NPR. Court documents do not identify the victims by name, […]
What happens when the original judge is no longer available?
Questions sometimes arise in criminal cases about whether a new judge may pick up duties initially undertaken by another judge who is no longer available. Consider the following scenarios. Trial […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Jan. 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during January 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries […]
Children and Consent Searches
Some time ago, I received an email from a researcher asking whether a minor may consent to the search of his or her cell phone. The question made me realize […]
News Roundup
After a two-week evidentiary hearing last February, and closing arguments delivered in August, Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. issued a 120-page order concluding that racism significantly affected the 2009 […]
Jail Credit During a Pending Post-Release Supervision Violation
There are about 10,000 people on post-release supervision (PRS) in North Carolina. Some of them get charged with a new crime. That new charge usually prompts the issuance of a […]