Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (Dec. 13, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on December 13, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 14, 20, & 26, 2024
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during November 2024. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]
Legislative Amendment to the Affirmative Defense against Some Local Ordinance Violations
Following the Senate, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted to override Governor Cooper’s veto on Session Law 2024-57 (Senate Bill 382) last week. The legislation effects sweeping change to […]
News Roundup
The top story this week is the arrest on Monday of Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Multiple […]
S 382 Enacts Provisions that Impact the Courts
Yesterday, the General Assembly overrode Governor Cooper’s veto to enact S.L. 2024-57 (S 382). The legislation, which was focused in part on disaster recovery following Hurricane Helene, impacts the court […]
Confession and Avoidance: Self-defense in State v. Myers
The defendant presented competent evidence tending to show that he was acting in self-defense when he shot Raquan Neal, the Court of Appeals recently said in State v. Myers, No. […]
News Roundup
According to this story, the CEO of United Health Care, Brian Thompson, was walking through Manhattan on his way to conference when a masked gunman fired multiple shots from a […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 3, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 3, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Smith v. Arizona Comes to NC
As regular readers know, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Arizona, 602 U.S. 779 (2024), this past June. The decision undercut the reasoning used by North Carolina courts to […]
There’s a New King in Town – Finding DWI Aggravating Factors
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004) that any contested fact that increases the defendant’s sentence beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to […]