What to Expect After a Traffic Stop: The Movie
As mentioned in a recent News Roundup, the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) produced a short video entitled “Traffic Stops: What to Expect as a Motorist,” instructing drivers who have been […]
Fourth Circuit: New Trial Required When Defense Lawyer Sleeps Through “Substantial Portion” of a Trial
On Friday, the Fourth Circuit, deciding “an issue of first impression,” ruled that a new trial is required when a defense lawyer sleeps through a substantial portion of a trial. […]
News Roundup
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan died on Sunday. The L.A. Times has full coverage of her death here. As noted in this article, Reagan was influential in the anti-drug policies […]
Do DWI Suspects Have a Right to the Least Intrusive Chemical Test?
In its seminal opinion establishing the State’s right to withdraw blood from a DWI suspect over his objection and without a warrant when there are exigent circumstances, the United States […]
Probation Pathways in a Justice Reinvestment [as Amended] World
These days, figuring out the permissible ways to respond to a probation violation is easy. All you need to know is the date of the offense for which the person […]
Frisking a Person for a Weapon When a State Allows Carrying a Concealed Weapon with a Permit
Sometimes a legislature enacts a statute that has consequences beyond the direct impact of the statute’s provisions. West Virginia’s statute allowing the carrying of a concealed weapon with a permit […]
Court of Appeals Upholds Admissibility of Social Media Evidence Based on Circumstantial Evidence of Authenticity
The court of appeals recently decided State v. Ford, a case about the authentication of social media evidence. This is the first North Carolina appellate case to give careful consideration […]
News Roundup
The Atlantic reports that people attending Supreme Court oral arguments on Monday were “gobsmacked” when Justice Clarence Thomas asked a government attorney a question from the bench. It’s been ten […]
More about What Is and Isn’t Absconding
Two new cases from the court of appeals, both involving defendants named Johnson, shed more light on the meaning of “absconding” from probation.
State v. Osteen: Court of Appeals Approves Admission of Lay and Expert Opinion Testimony Regarding Drug Impairment
Proving that a driver was impaired by alcohol is not all that difficult, particularly when the driver submits to a breath test and the result is .08 or more. Proving […]