Body-Camera Footage Leads to Plain Error Reversal in State v. Miller
My colleagues here have previously blogged about the impact of Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. ___, 135 S. Ct. 1609 (2015), and my predecessor Alyson Grine created a handy […]
Criminal Law and Protests
Protests are breaking out all over. This weekend, protesters gathered at RDU to oppose President Trump’s travel ban. Last weekend, participants in Women’s Marches took to the streets of Washington […]
News Roundup
President Donald Trump recently tweeted that he will name his U.S. Supreme Court nominee on Thursday of next week. With the nomination on the horizon, various news outlets are weighing […]
Notice of the Duty to Register as a Sex Offender
When a defendant is convicted of a reportable sex crime, someone is required to give him or her notice of the duty to register. Who does it depends on whether […]
Attempted Assault Is a Crime
Reversing the Court of Appeals, the NC Supreme Court recently held, in State v. Floyd, that attempted assault is a crime in North Carolina.
North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds a Magistrate’s Finding of Probable Cause to Issue Search Warrant to Search Home for Drugs
On December 21, 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Allman upheld a magistrate’s finding of probable cause to search a home for drugs, and it reversed a […]
Update on Fingerprints, Phones, and the Fifth Amendment
Can a court order a suspect to use the suspect’s fingerprint to unlock his or her smartphone? Or would that violate the suspect’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination? I wrote […]
News Roundup
Today in Washington, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the forty-fifth President of the United States. By their nature, presidential inaugurations always are massive undertakings for law enforcement agencies. President-elect […]
Recycling Probation Violations
Can a court respond to the same offending behavior by a probationer more than once?
Special Rules for Pleading and Trying Habitual Offenses
Author’s Note: The North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals decision in State v. Brice, which is discussed in the body of this post. You can read about […]