News Roundup
For the last day or so, the headlines have been dominated by the multiple murder at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Law enforcement arrested Dylan […]
Which Sex Offenders Can’t Go Certain Places
The premises restrictions of G.S. 14-208.18 have been in the news again lately. Here in Chapel Hill, a registered sex offender charged with being unlawfully on the premises of the […]
The DWI Year in Review, Part II
Whether there was probable cause to arrest the driver is a hotly litigated issue in cases involving impaired driving. Unfortunately, there aren’t all that many appellate opinions addressing the hard […]
The DWI Year in Review, Part I
Don’t call the School of Government next week. We’ll all be out. Next week is conference-time for many of the court officials we serve, and we will be traversing the state (driving […]
Holding Jurors in Contempt for Cell Phone Use
Courts around the country have struggled to address inappropriate cell phone usage by jurors. Some judges have used their contempt powers to deal with the issue. In Oregon, a judge […]
News Roundup
The front page of my local newspaper today featured a story about the General Assembly’s vote to override the Governor’s veto of the legislation allowing magistrates to opt out of […]
Surprise Post-Release Supervision
I get a lot of mail from inmates. Lately, many of them have written to express their surprise upon being told by prison officials—for the first time—that they will have […]
The License Plate Game
The school year ends this week so it is just about time for another Denning family road trip. Despite the minivan with bucket seats, the DVD player, and multiple portable […]
Sentencing App Update
It has been a little over a year since we announced the availability of the School of Government’s mobile app for Structured Sentencing. The app has been downloaded over one […]
Computer Technicians’ Duty to Report Child Pornography
Last week, I blogged about the application of the private search doctrine in child pornography cases. I noted that one recent case began when a computer repair technician contacted police […]