News Roundup
Earlier this year, the News Roundup noted that the United States Supreme Court held in Hurst v. Florida that Florida’s capital sentencing scheme was unconstitutional under the Sixth Amendment because […]
Can the Police Compel You to Unlock Your Phone Using Your Fingerprint?
I’ve written before about whether a court may order a person to provide a password to a computer or a passcode to a phone to enable an officer to complete […]
Deadly Force and Resisting a Public Officer
The N&O series: Deadly Force. Today the News and Observer published the last article of its four part investigative series Deadly Force, a series that chronicles numerous physical confrontations between […]
A Rare Opinion on Criminal Discovery in North Carolina
There seem to be fewer and fewer reported decisions about criminal discovery in North Carolina. A recent North Carolina Supreme Court decision finding a discovery violation by the prosecution, State […]
Sentencing Commission Recidivism Report Available
The North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission and the Division of Adult Correction recently released their Correctional Program Evaluation: Offenders Placed on Probation or Released from Prison in FY […]
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 […]
Federal Judge Enjoins 300-Foot Rule for Sex Offenders
The North Carolina law making it a felony for some sex offenders to go within 300 feet of certain locations intended for children is unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment. […]
Only Experts Can Testify About HGN
Author’s note: I added the conclusory paragraph at the end of this post shortly after its initial publication in response to helpful questions from readers about the significance of State […]
N.C. Court of Appeals Rules That Defendant Did Not Make An Unambiguous Assertion of Right to Counsel Under Miranda to Bar Officer’s Custodial Interrogation
The United States Supreme Court and North Carolina appellate courts have ruled that a defendant must make an unambiguous request for counsel under Miranda to bar an officer’s custodial interrogation. […]
Court of Appeals: Pleading Standards Are Relaxed for Citations
Last week, the court of appeals decided State v. Allen, a case that holds that the pleading requirements that apply to indictments and other accusatory pleadings don’t necessarily apply to […]