North Carolina’s ban on accessing commercial social networking sites by sex offenders is unconstitutional on its face, the court of appeals held this morning in State v. Packingham. Under G.S. […]
In a bulletin here I wrote about NC’s procedure for post-conviction motions for appropriate relief (MARs). Among other things, that bulletin explains the types of claims that can be raised […]
The top story of the week may be that the SBI “and its insurers have agreed to pay $12.475 million to two innocent men who spent a total of 31 […]
North Carolina’s special sentencing rules for drug trafficking are tough. A recently revised summary of those rules is available here. They include mandatory imprisonment and fines that go well beyond […]
Earlier this week, United States Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking to American Bar Association, announced a policy change in how drug cases will be charged in federal court. This post […]
What is the basis for the indefinite license revocation reflected in the driving record entry below? A. A revocation under G.S. 20-24.1 for failure to appear for a motor vehicle […]
In a recent case, State v. Fisher, the NC Court of Appeals upheld an involuntary manslaughter based on the defendant’s act of dumping an intoxicated and injured victim, alive but […]
A truly incredible story has culminated over the past few days. In 1998, Shon Hopwood was sentenced to 147 months in federal prison for bank robbery. He became a jailhouse […]
Improper counting of a defendant’s prior out-of-state convictions is a common sentencing error. This post collects the law on the subject, including the many appellate cases decided over the past […]
Maybe so, according to a recent Reuters report. Apparently, the Special Operations Division of the DEA receives information from the NSA and passes it to DEA field agents. The agents […]