News Roundup (January 18, 2013)
Jeff Welty
Just as the snow has been battering the mountains, the recession has been battering the courts. So says this article on NC Policy Watch, which summarizes the impact: “[C]lose to […]
State v. Wilson: Constitutional Violations Associated with DWI Blood Draw Not a Basis for Dismissal of Charges (January 17, 2013)
Shea Denning
Kelvin Wilson’s DWI case made the front page of Lawyer’s Weekly last January. Wilson was arrested for impaired driving in Winston-Salem and taken to the hospital. When he physically resisted […]
Court of Appeals Holds that CDL Disqualification Bars DWI Prosecution (January 16, 2013)
Shea Denning
I’m not buying a lottery ticket this week. The court of appeals’ opinion in State v. McKenzie, published yesterday, casts serious doubt on my wagering skills. And if my wagers […]
Diminished Capacity (January 15, 2013)
Jeff Welty
Diminished capacity is among the most commonly asserted defenses, particularly in first-degree murder cases, but I realized yesterday that I had never blogged about it. Today, I will remedy that. […]
Portion of Sex Offender Premises Restriction Held Unconstitutional (January 14, 2013)
Jamie Markham
Happy New Year! I feel like I spent most of 2012 talking about Justice Reinvestment. Let’s start 2013 with a more agreeable subject—like sex offenders. In one of its final […]
News Roundup (January 11, 2013)
Jeff Welty
New Governor Pat McCrory may be more focused on economic policy than on the courts and criminal justice, but he’s still done several things in his first days in office […]
Jury View (January 10, 2013)
Jessica Smith
In a post here I discussed a view of the person. In this post I’ll address the more common issue of a jury view. A trial judge may allow a […]
The Supreme Court on Competency and Collateral Review (January 9, 2013)
Jeff Welty
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided an important competency case. Let’s start the discussion with a quiz. Which of the following statements is true? a. A trial may be […]
Terms of Office for Appointed Appellate Judges (January 8, 2013)
James Drennan
[Editor’s note: Today we welcome Jim Drennan to the blog. Jim has been here at the School of Government for almost 40 years, though he took a couple of years […]
A Horse Is a Horse, of Course. But Is It Also a Vehicle? (January 7, 2013)
Shea Denning
Horses are vehicles, according to our state court of appeals. In State v. Dellinger, 73 N.C. App. 685 (1985), the court upheld the defendant’s conviction for impaired driving based upon […]