News Roundup
After a plea deal between 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the U.S. government was declared void by order of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a military judge has now ruled […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Nov. 5, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on November 5, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
License Plate Readers, Highway Pilot Program, and New Offense
A few months ago, I wrote about Session Law 2023-151 providing for new sentencing enhancements for breaking or entering motor vehicles and other conveyances. Another part of the bill, Part […]
Shifting the Landscape for the Domestic Violence 48-Hour Rule?
The “48-hour rule,” as it is known in domestic violence cases, has been covered on this blog numerous times over the years (see here, here, and here). The rule shifts […]
Recent Developments Concerning Geofence Warrants
Five years ago, I wrote about geofence warrants. I said then that “there are zero cases on Westlaw . . . [and] virtually no secondary source material about these warrants.” […]
News Roundup
People of a certain age will remember the Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik. In 1989, when they were 21 and 17 years old, they shot and killed their parents in […]
New Pattern Jury Instructions Now Available
Each year the School of Government publishes new and revised pattern jury instructions for civil, criminal, and motor vehicle negligence cases. Those instructions are created and compiled by the North […]
Confidential Informants, Motions to Reveal Identity, and Discovery: Part V, Asserting a Defense Theory
This is Part V of a multi-part series on confidential informants (“CI’s”), motions to reveal the identity of CI’s, and discovery. As discussed in earlier posts in this series (here […]
News Roundup
Police in Durango, Colorado, shared a video on Facebook this week of their pursuit and capture of an escaped kangaroo. The N&O has the video. According to the Durango Police […]
Smith v. Arizona and So Many Unanswered Questions
I recently gave a criminal law case update to a group of judges. I had quite a few cases that I planned to cover in relatively short order. I started […]