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Attention has fallen on North Carolina for a 1979 court decision on withdrawal of consent during sexual intercourse. In State v. Way, 297 N.C. 293 (1979), the state supreme court held under North Carolina’s then-existing rape statutes that if a woman consents to sexual intercourse and in the middle of the act changes her mind, the defendant is not guilty of rape for continuing to engage in intercourse with her. The decision has drawn fierce criticism from the public and in legal circles. The criticism intensified after the General Assembly did not act on a bill introduced this session, Senate Bill 553, which would have permitted withdrawal of consent after intercourse begins consensually. People have asked me whether the apparent holding in Way is still the law in North Carolina. Is it true that a man would not be guilty of rape if he forcibly continued to have sexual intercourse with a woman after she withdrew consent? In my view, that may not be the law in North Carolina.

In North Carolina, the general rule is that “an attempt to commit a . . . felony is punishable under the next lower classification as the offense which the offender attempted to commit.” G.S. 14-2.5. However, the armed robbery statute, G.S. 14-87, makes it a class D felony to “take[] or attempt[] to take” property from another while in possession of a dangerous weapon. The specific terms of the statute therefore create an exception to the general rule, and render attempted armed robbery the same offense class as the completed crime. The fact that attempted armed robbery is specifically set out in the armed robbery statute and is the same offense class as armed robbery has created considerable doctrinal trouble. In the past month, the General Assembly has tried to fix the problems and the state supreme court has weighed in on an analogous issue.

A New York City police officer was ambushed and killed in the Bronx on the Fourth of July by a man who reportedly had made threats towards police on Facebook.  Officer Miosotis Familia, a mother of three, was on duty in a mobile command post Tuesday night when she was shot at close range by Alexander Bonds.  Bonds, whose girlfriend had alerted police to his erratic behavior earlier in the evening, subsequently was shot and killed by officers responding to the incident.  A report from the New York Times says that Officer Familia was the first female NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty since the September 11 terrorist attacks.  Keep reading for more news.

“Arrest on first positive drug screen. $50,000 secured bond.”

“Hold without bond for any probation violation.”

May a judge sentencing a defendant to probation include instructions such as these in the judgment suspending sentence?

Jeff wrote on Monday about efforts by North Carolina government officials to combat the opioid epidemic.The initiatives he highlighted, such as addiction treatment and needle exchange programs, primarily attack the problem from a public health perspective. Jeff noted the contrast between this approach and the criminal-drug-law enforcement response to the spread of crack cocaine in the 1990s.

That’s not to say, however, that the criminal justice system isn’t responding to the current crisis. In counties across the State, including New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Union, and Wake, prosecutors are pursuing second-degree murder charges against defendants who are alleged to have provided the opioids leading to victims’ deaths.

This post explores the basis for murder charges based on the unlawful distribution of drugs and what the State must prove at trial to establish a defendant’s guilt.

America is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and North Carolina is no exception. The CDC reports that “[s]ince 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids . . . quadrupled. From 2000 to 2015, more than half a million people died from drug overdoses.” A new report based on health insurance data put four North Carolina cities among the 25 worst in the nation for opioid abuse. What is our state government doing about this?

Chief Justice Mark Martin delivered the 2017 State of the Judiciary Address at the North Carolina Bar Association’s annual meeting over the weekend.  A video of the address is available on YouTube.  In his remarks, Chief Justice Martin called on the General Assembly to let North Carolinians vote on whether to change the state constitution so that judges are selected using a merit-selection system.  The Asheville Citizen-Times has a report about the proposal here.  Keep reading for more news.

[Editor’s note: This post originally ran last week on the School’s civil law blog, On the Civil Side. Because it concerns prosecutors’ roles in abuse, neglect, and dependency cases, it is cross-posted here.]

Like every other state, North Carolina has a mandated reporting law for child abuse and neglect. North Carolina’s law requires any person or institution with cause to suspect a child is abused, neglected, or dependent by a parent, guardian, custodian, or caretaker to make a report to the county child welfare department (in most counties, DSS) where the child resides or is found. G.S. 7B-301. What is in a report? Are there protections for the reporter? What are the rights of the reporter? If DSS decides not to initiate a court action, can the reporter challenge that decision?

Our colleague Bob Farb announced his retirement on the blog yesterday. He worked for the School of Government for 41 years, interacted with every group of public officials imaginable, and was highly productive and widely respected. This post remembers Bob’s career.

After 41 years with the School of Government (formerly, the Institute of Government), I will retire on June 30. It has been my privilege to serve those who work in […]