Deferred Prosecution: Who Steers the Ship?
The district attorney decides when to defer prosecution. But if that deferral includes probation under G.S. 15A-1341(a1), the court has a role in the process—including what to do in response […]
A political science professor, a civil rights lawyer and a police chief walk into a classroom . . .
I haven’t figured out the punch line to this joke. It was my opening line for a traffic stops session taught last month in the special topics seminar, Race Issues […]
The Meaning of Custody During Traffic Stops Under Miranda v. Arizona and Berkemer v. McCarty
The 50th anniversary of the landmark ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), will occur in a few weeks on June 13. As everyone knows, the case required […]
Feds Focus on Fines and Fees
The U.S. Department of Justice recently issued a letter regarding its “strong interest” in putting a stop to unconstitutional court fines and fees that target the poor. According to […]
News Roundup
The New York Times and Right on Crime are each reporting that South Carolina and Louisiana appear poised to raise the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction in those states […]
Twenty-Five Year Review of Sentences to Life Without Parole
I have started to get questions about G.S. 15A-1380.5, a repealed statute that used to provide for judicial review of sentences to life without parole after 25 years of imprisonment. […]
Blanket Objection by State to Fact-Findings Sufficient to Trigger De Novo Review in DWI Case
If you decide to read yesterday’s court of appeals opinion in State v. Miller, ___ N.C. App. ___ (May 17, 2016) do yourself a favor and skip to page 9. […]
May an Officer Assume a False Identity Online in Order to “Friend” a Suspect?
Officers are allowed to misrepresent their identities in the course of their investigations: they may pose as drug buyers, or prostitutes, or members of an organized crime syndicate. Is the […]
Fourth Circuit: North Carolina Assaults Don’t Count as “Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence” for Purposes of Firearm Prohibition
It is a federal crime for a person who has been convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” to possess a gun. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). A “misdemeanor crime […]
News Roundup
This week the Tenth Circuit ruled that a condition of supervised release that required a man convicted of distributing child pornography to complete a sex offender treatment program violated the […]