404(b) Evidence: How Much Is Too Much?
The state supreme court recently reversed a death sentence and a first-degree murder conviction because the State presented “an excessive amount” of otherwise admissible Rule 404(b) evidence. How much is […]
News Roundup
It was a big news week, but I’ll start with the General Assembly. First off, it passed a law, S.L. 2015-31, that requires motor vehicles to have at least one […]
Counting Jail Credit Days
If a defendant is arrested on Monday, detained all week, and sentenced on Friday, how many days of jail credit does he get?
How Many Shades of Registration Violations?
Gray is in. And DMV knows it.
Reducing Charges in Juvenile Court
Many juvenile cases are resolved through admissions (known as guilty pleas in criminal court), often with the prosecutor’s agreement to reduce the charge. Sometimes, the reduced charge is a lesser-included […]
News Roundup
The big news at the General Assembly this week was the introduction of the House budget bill. Recent projections of a budget surplus contributed to a proposal to spend about […]
When the Trial Court Has the Last Word
Litigants sometimes are surprised by circumstances in which a trial court’s ruling in a case is not capable of review on appeal. The court of appeals recognized one such situation […]
Disposing of a Defendant’s Guns after a Felony Conviction
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided a case about the disposition of a defendant’s guns after the defendant has been convicted of a felony. The case is […]
Sitosky Update: The Latest on Probation Tolling
The continued supervision or imprisonment of hundreds of probationers and inmates is in question in light of State v. Sitosky, __ N.C. App. __, 767 S.E.2d 623 (2014), petition for […]
State Supreme Court on State’s Ability to Obtain Review of MAR Rulings
Last month, the Supreme Court of North Carolina decided State v. Stubbs, an important case regarding appellate review of orders granting motions for appropriate relief.