Lineups and Facial Tattoos
How should a law enforcement officer conduct a lineup when the suspect has a facial tattoo? More than one in five American adults now has a tattoo according to a […]
Thought You Understood Contempt? Think Again
The murky law of contempt — particularly the distinction between civil and criminal contempt — got even more confusing last month with the Court of Appeals’ decision in Tyll v. […]
News Roundup
Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, the beginning of the end of WWII. Over 4,000 Allied soldiers died that day, and many more were injured. People have […]
May a Separate Count of Hit and Run Be Charged for Each Person Injured?
A man who drove his sport utility vehicle into a group of cyclists in Cabarrus County in May 2010, injuring six of them, and drove away without stopping was convicted […]
With Cert Denials, Hope Fades for Clarification on Use of Substitute Analysts
Mumford & Sons has a song called Hopeless Wanderer. When it comes to substitute analysts and the confrontation clause, that song title sums me up, and maybe you as well. […]
Modifying a Sentence upon Revocation of Probation
When a person’s probation is revoked, his or her suspended sentence is generally activated in the same manner in which it was entered by the sentencing judge. But a lot […]
Authentication and GPS Tracking
I’ve had more and more questions about introducing GPS tracking data in criminal trials. When I think about digital evidence, I think about authentication as the first hurdle. This post […]
News Roundup
The focus in Raleigh this week was mostly on the budget. The Senate released its initial proposal, which differs from the Governor’s. As the News and Observer discusses here, the […]
Boat Excursions Raise the Darndest Questions
They say the only thing better than having a boat is having a friend with a boat. In my case, that friend is my brother-in-law, who not only has a […]
Intellectual Disability, IQ Scores, and the Death Penalty
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided Hall v. Florida, a case about the death penalty and intellectual disability. It’s an important case with implications for North Carolina. Background. In […]