Ramp Meters: They Just May Alter Your Life
As a regular I-40 commuter, I feel like traffic jams are the story of my life. And it is obvious I’m not alone. But there may be hope. Legislation enacted […]
U.S. Senators Support “Raise the Age”
Just weeks after the NC House passed bipartisan legislation to “raise the age” of juvenile court jurisdiction to 17 for misdemeanor offenses (HB 725), US Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and […]
News Roundup
Locally, the big criminal justice news was former UNC basketball player P.J. Hairston getting a criminal summons. He allegedly punched a high school basketball player during a pickup game at […]
Counting Joined Offenses for Prior Record Points
Before Structured Sentencing we had Fair Sentencing. Under Fair Sentencing, there was no such thing as “prior record level,” but a prior conviction could qualify as an aggravating factor, exposing […]
Court of Appeals Rules on Prior Convictions from New Jersey
Last month, the court of appeals decided State v. Hogan, __ N.C. App. __, 758 S.E.2d 465 (2014), a case about the use of a defendant’s prior convictions from New […]
Criminal Charges for Random Gunfire
A man in Charlotte was struck by a stray bullet on July 4th. The police say that “it appears that it was not an intentional shooting but that someone . […]
Is There a Tolling Donut Hole?
I wrote previously (here and here) about the “donut hole” in the probation law regarding absconding. In short, due to a wrinkle in legislative effective dates, persons on probation for […]
News Roundup
A couple of news items caught struck me during this holiday-shortened week. Impact of Riley on pending cases. I’ve started to have questions about the impact of Riley v. California, […]
Court of Appeals Strictly Limits Scope of Traffic Stops
Yesterday, the court of appeals decided a very important traffic stop case. Its ruling strictly limits officers to pursuing the original justification for a traffic stop, and prohibits officers from […]
Daubert and Expert Testimony of Impairment
With the amendment of Rule 702 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence in 2011, North Carolina became a Daubert state. That change means that trial judges in this state, […]