A UNC School of Government Blog
The United States Supreme Court held last term in Missouri v. McNeeIy, 133 S. Ct. 1552 (2013), that the natural dissipation of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream does not constitute an exigency in every impaired driving case sufficient to excuse the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. McNeely’s holding comported with the analysis that the North Carolina … Read more
I field a lot of calls from prosecutors, defenders, and judges about evidence issues. Character evidence is one area that accounts for a lot of those calls. And no wonder. The rules are complicated and almost impossible to keep straight. The basic rule is that character evidence can’t be admitted to show propensity. Thus, evidence … Read more
We’ve long believed that the North Carolina Criminal Law Blog is the best, but now we have proof. A reader pointed me to this list of blogs run by law professors. Our traffic would put us among the top 25 blogs on the list. More significantly, we would be the only single-state blog in the … Read more
Each Halloween also seems to bring a wave of news stories related to sex offenders. There apparently isn’t evidence to back up the concern, but some jurisdictions have laws prohibiting registered offenders from participating in Halloween activities. In Missouri, for example, all registrants were required to remain indoors between 5:00 and 10:30 p.m. on October … Read more
Counting the number of sections in a chapter of the General Statutes is pretty dull work. But doing it over and over again in order to see the growth in a single chapter over time may yield interesting results. In preparation for a panel discussion about overcriminalization this evening, I counted the number of sections … Read more
Can a concealed carry permit holder carry a concealed handgun in a park? On a playground? The legislature has changed the law in this area twice in recent years and I get lots of questions about it. This post summarizes the basics. Concealed weapons generally are forbidden. Carrying a concealed weapon of any kind, including … Read more
2013 NC legislation, S.L. 2013-368, overhauled the state’s prostitution offenses. It repealed G.S. 14‑190.18 (promoting prostitution of minor), 14‑190.19 (participating in prostitution of minor), 14‑204.1 (loitering for prostitution), 14‑205 (prosecution of offenses), 14‑207 (degrees of guilt), and 14‑208 (punishment). Additionally it rewrote every other provision in Ch. 14 Article 27 save one (only G.S. 14-206 … Read more
I was busy at the judges’ and prosecutors’ conferences this week, but somehow, the world didn’t stop turning. Among the week’s top stories: A new edition of the North Carolina Defender Manual, Vol. 1, Pretrial, is now available. Word to the wise: the manual isn’t just useful for defense attorneys. It offers detailed coverage of … Read more
A registered sex offender may not knowingly reside within 1,000 feet of a school or child care center. G.S. 14-208.16. That restriction was enacted in 2006, S.L. 2006-247, and applies to all registered sex offenders in North Carolina, regardless of their particular crime or date of offense. A violation of the law is a Class … Read more
That’s what I said to my husband during the breakfast hour this morning, while I was working as a short-order cook and waitress for three rather demanding customers (our children). To his credit, he complied and asked how he could help. As a result, I not only got relief, but I got to pick the … Read more