A UNC School of Government Blog
Pop star Justin Bieber was arrested yesterday morning in Miami Beach after allegedly drag racing a rented Lamborghini through a residential neighborhood while intoxicated. His smiling mug shot has been all over the news. Charged with DUI, Bieber faces up to six months in jail, 50 hours of community service, and a fine of $250 … Read more
From 1995 to 2009, North Carolina had two sentencing grids—one for felonies, one for misdemeanors. That was it. Then the grid was amended in 2009. And 2011 (with special rules for sex offenders). And 2013, for both felonies and misdemeanors. Because you should always use the grid that was in place when the defendant committed … Read more
CNET is reporting that an Ohio man went to a movie theater wearing Google Glass. Halfway through Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, an FBI agent approached him, flashed a badge, took his Google Glass, and ordered him out of the theater. Several agents questioned the man about whether he was recording the film, which the man … Read more
I’ve previously blogged about hearsay exceptions for admissions by party-opponents (here), present sense impressions and excited utterances (here), and statements for purposes of medical diagnosis and treatment (here). In this post I’ll focus on the Rule 803(3) exception for statements of then existing mental, emotional, or physical condition. Remember that unlike the Rule 804 exceptions, … Read more
The biggest national story this week is the just-completed execution of Dennis McGuire by the state of Ohio. Because the state was not able to procure pentobarbital, a drug historically used in executions, it used a novel combination of drugs that resulted in McGuire gasping and convulsing for 10 minutes or more. Whether McGuire was … Read more
A DWI conviction will cost you. Let’s take the case of a typical defendant who has never before been charged with or convicted of DWI. I’ll call him Forrest Firsttimer. Forrest is arrested at a DWI checkpoint. He submits to a breath test, which reports an alcohol concentration of 0.08. Forrest is taken before a … Read more
May community service fees be waived? I suspect some of you are thinking “I hope so, because they just were,” or something along those lines. It turns out to be a tricky question, I think. First, let me be clear about what I mean by community service. I’m talking about community service ordered as a … Read more
The Seventh Circuit just ruled that the $30 booking fee charged to each arrestee in an Illinois town is constitutional. Markadonatos v. Village of Woodridge, __ F.3d __, 2014 WL 60452 (7th Cir. Jan. 8, 2014). I had never heard of booking fees and decided to learn a bit more about them, including where they … Read more
Wondering what the key cases were in 2013? Here’s my list, for criminal lawyers practicing in state courts. Want more information? All of the cases are summarized in greater detail in my free, online Criminal Case Compendium. Evidence Kansas v. Cheever, 571 U.S. __ (Dec. 11, 2013). The Fifth Amendment does not prohibit the government … Read more
The new year is off to an interesting start. Here are some of the week’s top developments: Wake County DA not seeking re-election. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has announced that he will not seek re-election in November. The News and Observer reports that District Court Judge Ned Mangum is “contemplating a possible run … Read more