A UNC School of Government Blog
The lead story this week is the intersection of college sports and criminal law. Consider (1) former UNC professor Julius Nyang’oro has been charged with obtaining property by false pretenses in connection with an alleged no-show summer school class filled with UNC football players; (2) N.C. State running back Shadrach Thornton has been suspended from … Read more
It is a Thanksgiving tradition for the president to pardon a turkey. This year, CNN reports, it was a Minnesota bird named Popcorn. But is executive clemency limited to avians? This post briefly explores the available data. Decline in federal clemency. Though he pardoned a turkey, President Obama has not pardoned many people. The New … Read more
The court of appeals decided its first post-Missouri v. McNeely alcohol exigency case yesterday. The court in State v. Dahlquist determined that the four to five hours that the arresting officer estimated would have elapsed had he first traveled to the intake center at the jail to obtain a search warrant and then taken the … Read more
In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. __ (2012), and Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. __ (2013), the Supreme Court announced a new, or perhaps revived an old, understanding of the Fourth Amendment that is closely tied to property rights and trespass. In Jones, the Court ruled that attaching a GPS tracking device to a … Read more
I thought I’d take a few minutes and jot down some questions and answers about the new fine-only punishment scheme for Class 3 misdemeanors for many defendants (enacted as part of the 2013 Appropriations Act). Several hours later—after thinking about the different permutations, reading several cases, talking with patient colleagues, and pondering further—I came up … Read more
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, today’s post will be the last of the week. That means it is the last post before December 1, when another batch of new laws comes into effect. Perhaps most notable among them is the new rule limiting punishment for a Class 3 misdemeanor to a fine only for defendants with three … Read more
The News and Observer reported Sunday on the Hamlet Police Department’s seizure of vehicles from drivers charged with low-level traffic offenses and the subsequent selling of those vehicles as scrap in what the reporter characterized as a “series of questionable and off-the-books transactions handled by the police.” A story in today’s paper states that the … Read more
I’ve had a number of people ask me what’s going on around the state with internet sweepstakes. Below, I set out what I know, but there’s so much going on in this area that I’m sure I’m missing something. Please add to the knowledge base by posting a comment if you know more. New games. … Read more
Whoa! A very busy news week. Here’s the rundown: PD becomes DA. Public Defender Andy Womble has been appointed by Governor McCrory to fill the remainder of the term of deceased District Attorney Frank Parrish in District 1, as the Outer Banks Voice notes here. If a public defender has ever before become a district … Read more
Whether the plain view doctrine makes sense in the context of computer searches, and if it doesn’t, what courts should do about it, are controversial issues. We don’t have any North Carolina case law on point but decisions are piling up around the country. This post summarizes the controversy. Computer searches may be very thorough. … Read more