Claims That Survive an Unconditional Guilty Plea
A lot of defendants plead guilty. And many of those defendants later try to challenge their pleas through the post-conviction process. Not surprisingly then, I get a lot of questions […]
Florida v. Jardines: Bringing a Drug Dog to the Front Porch Is a Search
Today, most Supreme Court watchers are focused on the oral argument in the same-sex marriage cases. But the Court also released an important opinion in Florida v. Jardines, ruling that […]
State crime lab backlogs and the right to speedy trial
The state crime lab and other local laboratories perform nearly 10,000 blood toxicology analyses annually, the vast majority of them in impaired driving cases. Unlike breath analysis results, which the […]
News Roundup
This blog passed two million hits this week. It has far surpassed the modest expectations I had when it began. Thanks to everyone who is part of the blog community […]
The Governor’s Budget
Yesterday, Governor McCrory announced his recommended budget for the next two years. It is available here. Any governor’s budget is really just the beginning of a conversation with the General […]
Are a Child’s Statements to a Treating Psychologist Admissible Under Hinnant?
Suppose a child victim of sexual abuse is referred to a psychologist for counseling. In the course of treatment the child reveals details about the abuse. If the child doesn’t […]
No Sex Offender Registration for a “True PJC”
I’m headed to High Point today to teach a session for magistrates on crimes related to sex offender registration. I’m glad I looked at the slip opinions from the court […]
Felons and Guns: Update on the Britt Line of Cases
Remember Britt v. State, 363 N.C. 546 (2009), in which the state supreme court ruled that a man with a single, non-violent felony conviction from 1979 had a state constitutional […]
News Roundup
The lead story of the week – besides the beginning of the ACC tournament, naturally – is the introduction of S 306, a bill designed to break the logjam in the […]
Proving Drugged Driving
Drunk driving has long been a phrase in the national lexicon of terms related driving and public safety. Over the past decade, a companion term—drugged driving—has entered into common usage […]