Is it proper to charge a defendant separately with a greater offense and with a lesser-included offense? For example, is it proper to charge a defendant with robbery and with larceny arising out of the same taking, even though larceny is a lesser-included offense of robbery?
News Roundup
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a Minnesota man, Danny Heinrich, confessed in federal court to abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing Jacob Wetterling nearly 27 years ago. Heinrich’s confession was part of a child pornography plea deal in which he will not be prosecuted for his crimes against Wetterling. Following Wetterling’s abduction, Congress enacted the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act which required states to implement sex offender registries. Keep reading for more news.
Who’s In Charge in Your District?
My middle child is named Charles. The other day I referred to him as Charles in Charge. He asked me why teachers and other adults always called him that. Ah, me. It seems my cultural references are dated.
Regardless of whether you are old enough to have had a Scott Baio poster in your room, if your work involves the courts, it is a good idea to know who is in charge of district court in your district.
A Warning Shot about Self-Defense
Suppose John is facing a deadly assault and fears that he will be killed or suffer great bodily harm. John has a firearm but, rather than shoot his assailant, he fires a warning shot. The shot goes awry, strikes John’s assailant, and kills him. May John rely on self-defense if charged with murder? The answer may be surprising.
Podcast Update: Episode 5 Now Available
The fifth and final episode of the first season of Beyond the Bench is now available. The episode features Jamie Markham interviewing Anne Precythe, the Director of Community Corrections. She shares interesting thoughts about how the probation system has changed over time and some of the challenges facing the system now. Check it out on the web … Read more
News Roundup
Labor day weekend has arrived and it’s time to kick back, relax, and be incredibly safe while navigating the roadways of the Old North State. The Charlotte Observer reports that the number of U.S. and North Carolina traffic fatalities rose significantly in 2015, reversing a decades-long decline. Take Shea’s advice and don’t speed on your way to show off your new swimwear while lounging landward of the mean high-water mark of the State’s beaches. Planning to booze it in the Land of the Sky? Make safe transportation choices or you’ll lose it because law enforcement is cracking down on drunk driving over the holiday. Enjoy the long weekend and keep reading for more news.
HGN, the Rules of Evidence and Suppression Hearings
True or False: An officer does not have to be qualified as an expert to testify about horizontal gaze nystagmus in a hearing on a motion to suppress in an impaired driving case.
Going “Beyond the Bounds” of Rule 404(b) in a Case Involving the Death of a Child
About a year ago, I wrote about State v. Hembree, 368 N.C. 2 (2015), a case in which the state supreme court reversed a murder conviction based on the State’s excessive use of Rule 404(b) evidence. This month, a divided court of appeals decided a case in the same vein. The case is State v. Reed.
News Roundup
The ABA Journal reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed an amicus brief in a Georgia civil class action asserting that the use of money bail violates arrestees’ due process and equal protection rights when there is no meaningful consideration of their ability to pay and alternative methods of assuring their appearance at trial. The plaintiff in the case is a schizophrenic man who was arrested for public drunkenness and could not afford $160 in bail. Unable to make bail, the man was held for six days in the local jail. The challenged system differs from North Carolina’s pretrial release procedure which, in many cases, expresses a preference for unsecured or non-monetary conditions of pretrial release. Keep reading for more news.