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Breath Tests Incident to Arrest are Reasonable but Prosecution for Refusing a Blood Test Goes Too Far

The U.S. Supreme Court waded into the murky waters of implied consent law this term in Birchfield v. North Dakota. The opinion it issued last week clarified important aspects of the relationship between chemical testing for impairment and the Fourth Amendment, but failed to distill a coherent theory of implied consent. Here’s what we know … Read more

News Roundup

The North Carolina General Assembly’s short session began Monday.  On the first day of the session, supporters and opponents of HB2 held well attended dueling rallies in Raleigh according to this report from the Charlotte Business Journal.  The Wall Street Journal has a national perspective on the rallies here. Democratic legislators filed a bill to … Read more

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Keeping a Good Thing Going:  New Book Available on Impaired Driving Laws

The School of Government has been publishing reference books on motor vehicle law since 1947.  The twelfth iteration of a book on motor vehicle law and the law of impaired driving, written by Ben Loeb and Jim Drennan was published in 2000.  The book went out of print a few years ago, though you’ll find … Read more

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Limited Driving Privileges Following Revocations for Willful Refusals

Several earlier posts (here, here and here) address the availability of a limited driving privilege for a person whose driver’s license is revoked upon conviction of impaired driving. Such a privilege allows a person to lawfully drive—for limited purposes at limited times—during the period of the revocation. I wrote here about DMV’s authority to revoke a … Read more

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Requests for Blood in Death by Vehicle Cases

G.S. 20-141.4 sets forth six offenses based upon the unlawful killing or injuring of another during the commission of a motor vehicle offense.  All but one of these death or injury by vehicle offenses are felonies and are predicated upon causing death or injury while driving while impaired in violation of G.S. 20-138.1 or 20-138.2. … Read more

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State v. Forney: Chewing Gum, Breath Tests, and Prejudice

In impaired driving cases, the results of a breath test of the defendant are admissible at trial when the testing is performed in accordance with statutory requirements and applicable administrative regulations. G.S. 20-139.1(b). When the testing is not carried out as required, however, the results are inadmissible. See State v. Davis, 208 N.C. App. 26, … Read more

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Substitute Analyst Testimony and Smith v. Arizona

I mentioned in a recent News Roundup that the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in Smith v. Arizona. The case tees up a question that has been lingering since at least 2012: Does the Confrontation Clause permit the admission of substitute forensic analyst testimony? This issue arises when a forensic report is prepared for use … Read more

The Criminal Night: trespassing in space and time

I recently participated in a webinar with my colleagues Chris McLaughlin and Kirk Boone about the right of tax appraisers to enter private property.  The webinar is available for purchase here.  Professor McLaughlin has blogged about the issue before, and he has written again following our discussion.  This post encapsulates what I learned in preparation … Read more

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Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (Oct. 6, 2020)

This post summarizes published criminal opinions by the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on October 6, 2020.