Notable Primary Election Results
The primary election that took place on Tuesday is over and the votes have been counted. Results of note for those involved in the criminal justice system include the following: […]
Top 3 Questions About Level A1 DWI Sentences
The most serious level of misdemeanor DWI is Aggravated Level One, which I generally refer to as Level A1. A defendant convicted of driving while impaired is subject to sentencing […]
Smart Guns
On balance, Americans like freedom, choices, and guns. It would seem to follow that Americans would support a free market that gives us an array of choices among guns. Yet […]
Extraordinary Mitigation
Extraordinary mitigation—or, more precisely, dispositional deviation for extraordinary mitigation—under G.S. 15A-1340.13(g) is a way for the court to impose a probationary sentence for a defendant whose offense class and prior […]
News Roundup
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made some racist remarks to his girlfriend, she recorded them, and they were leaked on the internet. This appears likely to cost Sterling the […]
Sentencing Smartphone App Available
The School of Government’s mobile app for Structured Sentencing is available for download. The version for Apple devices—iPhone and iPad—is in the iTunes App Store, linked here. (You’ll need at […]
Supreme Court Hears Cell Phone Search Incident to Arrest Cases
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard two cases regarding whether law enforcement officers may search a suspect’s cell phone incident to arrest. Generally, the answer to that question in North Carolina […]
Traffic Violations You May Not Even Know You Are Committing
Law enforcement officers may stop a vehicle when they have reasonable suspicion to believe that the driver has violated a traffic law. See State v. Styles, 362 N.C. 412, 415, […]
Waiving a Probation Violation Hearing
A probationer is entitled to a hearing on an alleged probation violation, unless the hearing is waived. G.S. 15A-1345(e). What does it mean to waive a probation violation hearing? As […]
News Roundup
Another North Carolina case is headed to the Supreme Court. The latest grant of certiorari is in Heien v. North Carolina, the burned-out brake light case in which the state […]