GiveUNC: Help Support the SOG
Today is GiveUNC day, the university’s annual one-day fundraising event for alumni, faculty, staff, supporters, and fans of Carolina to contribute to UNC programs and causes that they find most […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (March 19, 2025)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 19, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
News Roundup
Hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants were summarily deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador last weekend. Federal authorities relied on President Trump’s executive order invoking the Alien […]
When May a Trial Judge Reject a Plea Entered Pursuant to a Plea Agreement?
A trial judge has broad discretion regarding whether to accept a defendant’s guilty plea entered pursuant to a plea agreement in which the prosecutor has agreed to recommend a particular […]
Spring 2025 Cannabis Update
I have been covering developments around the legalization of hemp in North Carolina since 2018. Never did I suspect then that I would still be working on the topic all […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Feb. 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during February 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]
When Can the Police Seize a Cell Phone Incident to Arrest, and How Long Can They Keep It?
Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014), holds that the contents of a cell phone may not be searched incident to arrest, but allows for the possibility that the phone […]
News Roundup
The news story that captured my attention this week is not exactly, or not entirely, a criminal law story. Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was […]
The End of the Super-Contingent Sentence
Under G.S. 15A-1346(b), a sentencing court has the authority to order a probationary sentence to run consecutively to an undischarged term of imprisonment. Probation officers refer to that as a […]
When is Double Jeopardy a Rule of Evidence?
The defendant in State v. Greenfield, No. COA23-597 (N.C. Ct. App. Feb. 19, 2025), argued the trial court erred by admitting evidence and allowing argument about an attempted armed robbery […]