Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
Just about anyone who was a student at Carolina in 1995 remembers where they were on January 26 of that year when they heard that a gunman carrying a World-War-II-era […]
News Roundup
My family and I went to the State Fair last weekend, the same day as Bobby Joe Snyder, the third registered sex offender to be arrested at the Fair this […]
Driving While Impaired with Children in the Car
When you can’t find what you’re looking for in North Carolina, you may have to extend your search out of state. Case in point: I’ve just discovered an opinion from […]
Reconciling Multiple Statutory Amendments Made in the Same Session
How is a statute supposed to read when the General Assembly amends it in May and then amends it again in July without acknowledging the prior amendment? Let me clarify […]
Eyewitness Identification Reform Act Extended to Show-Ups
Effective December 1, S.L. 2015-212 extends the Eyewitness Identification Reform Act, G.S. 15A-284.52, to cover show-ups. But the bill leaves the status of photographic show-ups in doubt and contains a […]
The Courts’ Limited Role in Post-Release Supervision
Before 2011, post-release supervision (PRS) was a bit of a novelty. Back then, only Class B1–E felons received PRS, and they account for only 15 percent of all felons. For […]
News Roundup
It’s a ritual of fall: one faculty member or another receives an inquiry about whether registered sex offenders covered by G.S. 14-208.18 may attend a county fair or the State […]
Consecutive Splits
I am asked from time to time whether imprisonment terms for special probation (split sentences) may be run consecutively. I think they probably may.
North Carolina Bans Sale of Powdered Alcohol
I didn’t even know powdered alcohol was a thing. Turns out, it is not only a thing, but, in North Carolina and in many other states it is now an […]
Second Circuit Decides Major Gun Control Case
The Second Circuit just decided a case regarding gun control legislation in Connecticut and New York. It’s important in its own right, and because it concerns two issues that the […]