Recent blog posts

Shea noted yesterday that the General Assembly has begun its 2014 session, and she summarized one of the bills that the legislature may take up. This post notes several other […]

The General Assembly convened earlier today for its short session. While lawmakers’ primary focus doubtless will be the state budget, the legislature may again consider ways to address the persistent […]

The court of appeals just reversed a defendant’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. It’s a case with interesting facts that raises questions about whether the […]

When I talk about the “commit no criminal offense” probation condition, it’s almost always about one particular issue. May a pending charge (or even uncharged conduct) be considered as a […]

This week, the state supreme court heard oral arguments on the retroactivity of Miller v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court case that ruled that juvenile murderers could not automatically […]

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: […]

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 […]

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—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 […]

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 […]