News Roundup
As one of his first acts as in office, President Trump issued sweeping pardons and commutations for the people convicted of crimes stemming from their involvement in the January 6, […]
The Confidential Informant File: What Is It and When Must It Be Disclosed to the Defense?
I recently completed a series of posts on issues surrounding confidential informants (“CI’s”), discovery, and motions to reveal the CI’s identity. In this “bonus” post, I will discuss a related […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Jan. 15, 2025)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on January 15, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (December 2024)
This post summarizes published criminal law cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during December 2024. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries […]
News Roundup
This morning, President Biden announced that he will commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses. The commutations are for offenders who received […]
Justice Riggs, Seat 6, and Holdover Status
In September 2023, then-Governor Roy Cooper appointed Allison Riggs to fill a vacancy on the North Carolina Supreme Court created by the retirement of Associate Justice Michael Morgan. As an […]
2025 Expunction Guide Available for Free!
With a teaser like that, who could resist reading more? The 2025 edition of my online guide to expunctions is now available on the School of Government’s website at https://www.sog.unc.edu/resources/microsites/relief-criminal-conviction/. […]
Unilateral Conspiracy and Money Laundering
North Carolina is a bilateral conspiracy jurisdiction. Defining conspiracy as a combination of two or more persons to do an unlawful thing means that if the only other participant is […]
Criminal Series of the Clerks’ Manual Now Available
I am pleased to announce that the updated chapters in the Criminal Series of the Clerks’ Manual are now available.
News Roundup
In the waning weeks of his four-year term, President Biden announced commutations of 37 of 40 federal death sentences. With the exception of three individuals convicted of crimes involving “terrorism” […]