State v. Wilkerson and the Authentication of Electronic Evidence
I recently heard a police detective say that the internet was the worst thing that ever happened to law enforcement. He explained that before advent of the internet, criminals had […]
Curfews and Electronic Monitoring of Probationers
Some probationers are subject to a curfew—a time each day (usually in the evening or at night) when they are restricted to their residence. Recent changes to the law have […]
When the Defendant Is an Animal
As Jessie noted in a previous post, when a prosecutor is making his or her closing argument, “caution should be exercised with regard to all comparisons between the defendant and […]
News Roundup
This week offered a nice mix of serious legal news and comic relief. Let’s start with the serious stuff. The News and Observer ran this story about declining juvenile crime […]
Multi-Unit Dwellings and Curtilage
I blogged previously about whether the concept of curtilage applies to multi-unit dwellings like duplexes and apartment buildings. It’s an interesting question, and the cases summarized in the prior post […]
Sandusky Sentencing, Age, and a Reader Poll
Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was sentenced yesterday to 30 to 60 years in prison on 45 counts of sexually abusing boys. The New York Times has the […]
Dog Sniffs of People and the Fourth Amendment
Last week, I wrote about the North Carolina Court of Appeals’ holding in State v. Smith, ___ N.C. App. ___, 729 S.E.2d 120 (2012), that a drug dog’s positive alert […]
New Details about Advanced Supervised Release
The Justice Reinvestment Act created a new early release program called Advanced Supervised Release (ASR). In short, the law allows certain prison inmates to get out of prison early if […]
News Roundup
Fall is here, meaning cooler weather, leaves changing colors, and of course, elections. The North Carolina Bar Association has a new website that provides the results of performance surveys regarding […]
State v. Smith: Dog Alerts and Particularized Suspicion
Last August, the court of appeals in State v. Smith, ___ N.C. App. ___, 729 S.E.2d 120, temp. stay granted, __ N.C. __, 731 S.E.2d 179 (mem.) (2012), decided an […]