Recent blog posts

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Last week I wrote about how jails sometimes seek to limit medical expenses by having an inmate released. Today’s post is about the related issue of “refusing” an inmate on […]

The legislature is in full swing. H 725, [update: fixed link] a bill that appears to raise the juvenile age to 17, but only for misdemeanors that are not motor […]

I realize that the last update was only a few months ago, but I have updated my traffic stops paper again. It now includes a discussion of the United States Supreme […]

Growing up in North Carolina, the only time I saw toll roads was when my family took a road trip out of state.  But now that I’m a middle-aged soccer […]

The county is generally responsible for the cost of emergency medical care for jail inmates. G.S. 153A-224(b). It’s not always clear what constitutes an emergency, but state regulations include things […]

Suppose that the defendant is charged with a gang-related murder. The State seeks to establish that the defendant is a gang member by introducing a photograph that a detective found […]

Magistrates want mo’ problems. Actually, just mo’ money. By statute, magistrates are supposed to be paid according to a step system, with specific salaries attached to particular lengths of service […]