A UNC School of Government Blog
Ray Rice is, or was, an NFL player. He punched his then-fiancee, now wife, at a New Jersey casino, knocking her unconscious. He was charged with a felony assault but entered a deferred prosecution program, and the NFL suspended him for two games . . . and then the video hit the internet, and a … Read more
I spent a few minutes this morning looking at death penalty data. As most readers know, North Carolina hasn’t had an execution since 2006, as a result of litigation over lethal injection and the Racial Justice Act. But the death penalty remains on the books, the State may seek it, and juries may impose it. … Read more
Most impaired drivers arrive at their destinations without harming themselves or anyone else. And few such drivers are actually stopped by police. That may explain why eight percent of people nationwide who were over 16 years old reported riding in a vehicle with a driver they thought may have consumed too much alcohol to drive … Read more
On Friday, a panel of the court of appeals decided an interesting electronic sweepstakes case. The case is Sandhill Amusements, Inc. v. Sheriff of Onslow Co. It generally upheld a preliminary injunction against the Onslow County Sheriff and the District Attorney, barring them from enforcing the electronic sweepstakes statute against certain businesses. [Update: although the DA is … Read more
My next few posts will discuss this session’s legislative changes related to sentencing and corrections. Today’s post covers some pending changes related to confinement in response to violation (CRV, sometimes referred to as a “dunk”). CRV is incarceration ordered in response to a technical violation of probation—meaning a violation other than a new crime or … Read more
In North Carolina, the top story is the exoneration of Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, who were incarcerated for over 30 years in connection with the rape and murder of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie. DNA evidence links another man to the crime, and the prosecutor is reportedly considering bringing charges against him. McCollum was on death … Read more
Detectives investigating the rape and murder of an elderly woman in Shelby didn’t give up when suspect Donald Borders first refused to provide a sample of his DNA. They asked again. And again. And again. When Borders refused to relent after four visits to his home, investigators tried a different tack. They searched the county’s … Read more
North Carolina inmates are not allowed to have tobacco products, and other people are not allowed to give tobacco products to them. This session, the legislature changed the law—twice—to address the use of vapor products (like e-cigarettes) in our prisons and jails. Today’s post discusses those changes, beginning with some background on existing law. My … Read more
I’ve been asked several times about the new requirement that facial challenges to the constitutionality of state statutes be heard by a three-judge panel in Wake County. Does the requirement mean that facial challenges to statutes regarding criminal procedure must be heard in Raleigh? (As an example, consider State v. Thompson, 349 N.C. 483 (1998), … Read more
My favorite story this week concerns the alleged criminal mastermind who was charged with trying to steal copper . . . “from a construction site where the Garner Police Department is building a new station.” WRAL has the story here. We’ll see if he cops a plea to copping the cops’ copper. In other news: … Read more