News Roundup
In terms of having an impact on a large number of people, the biggest news of the week may be yesterday’s announcement by Transportation Secretary Tony Tata. He proclaimed that […]
Probation Officers’ Arrest Authority in Deferral Cases
Can a probation officer arrest a person being supervised pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement or G.S. 90-96 judgment? I’ve been asked that question a lot lately. I suspect it […]
Abolishing Judgeships: Can They Do That?
One of the livelier issues in last week’s General Assembly was the Senate’s move to abolish 12 of the 15 special superior court judgeships. Senate Bill 10, which would affect […]
“Stipulating” to Habitual Felon Status
This post discusses what may be the single most common error in habitual felon proceedings: having a defendant stipulate, rather than plead guilty, to being a habitual felon. Must plead […]
Habitual Felon and Previous Convictions from New Jersey
I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the Garden State, but it seems like there are a lot of people here in North Carolina with criminal records from New Jersey. […]
News Roundup
The top of the news this week is SB 10, which appears to have passed the state Senate. (You can see the bill’s progress here.) Readers of this blog will […]
State v. Lovette and North Carolina’s Miller Fix Law
Earlier in the week, the court of appeals decided State v. Lovette, the appeal of one of the defendants convicted of killing UNC student body president Eve Carson. The case […]
Computer Restrictions on Supervised Sex Offenders
Last week I wrote about the North Carolina law that makes it a crime for any registered sex offender to use a commercial social network, G.S. 14-202.5. In that post […]
Pleading in the Conjunctive
Many veteran prosecutors know the rule, “plead in the conjunctive.” In other words, in an indictment or other charging document, join different theories of the crime with the word “and” […]
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Magistrates walk a tight rope of sorts in setting conditions of pretrial release for defendants charged with impaired driving offenses. In addition to taking into account all of the factors […]