Law enforcement officers in North Carolina must have good moral character to be certified, and may lose their certification if they lose their good moral character. The requirement of good moral character is neither unique to North Carolina nor exclusive to law enforcement officers. At the same time, it is a difficult standard to apply, as illustrated by a recent decision issued by the Supreme Court of North Carolina. This post provides context for that decision and explores its reasoning.
News Roundup
One of the top stories this week is that of Decarlos Brown, who was charged in the fatal stabbing of a woman on a train in Charlotte. The crime occurred on August 22, but the Charlotte Area Transit System recently released surveillance footage to local media outlets, causing the case to garner national attention. Brown has been charged federally with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could result in the death penalty if convicted. Brown has also been charged in North Carolina with first-degree murder.
Republican leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly have since announced their plans to introduce wide-ranging legislation when they reconvene later this month. The legislators are aiming to advance a package of proposed laws in part designed to tighten pretrial release rules, create more oversight of and less discretion for magistrates, and restart the use of the death penalty in the state. Any criminal legislation that is enacted will be covered on this blog and included in our annual legislative summaries.
Remote Hearings for Prisoners
During the pandemic, we got accustomed to doing certain court proceedings virtually—initially under authority of the Chief Justice’s emergency orders (which Shea discussed here), and later by statute, under G.S. 7A-49.6. That law allows “proceedings of all types” (with some exceptions and caveats) to be conducted using an audio and video transmission. The Department of Adult Correction (DAC) has issued new guidance on its process for scheduling virtual proceedings. Their General Counsel’s Office asked me to help spread the word about it to court officials.
Some Other Provision of Law
Several criminal statutes include the provision that a person who commits the offense prescribed is guilty of a designated class of offense “unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment.” E.g., G.S. 14-33(c). Two recent cases illustrate the application of such provisions. In State v. French, No. COA24-704 (N.C. Ct. App. July 2, 2025), the Court of Appeals upheld three consecutive sentences for greater and lesser assaults, despite the inclusion in the relevant statutes of a some-other-provision-of-law clause. By contrast, in State v. Jenkins, No. COA24-889 (N.C. Ct. App. Aug 6, 2025), the Court of Appeals reversed an additional sentence for discharging a firearm within an enclosure because G.S. 14-34.10 contains a some-other-provision-of-law clause. This post examines the intent and scope of the SOPL clause.
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 3, 2025)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 3, 2025. In defendant’s trial for felonious possession of stolen goods, admission of police chief’s testimony about defendant’s record of charges for breaking and entering was not plain error. State v. Clark, No. COA25-13 (N.C. Ct. App. Sept. … Read more
News Roundup
Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” pled guilty on Wednesday to selling Matthew Perry the drugs that resulted in his death, as reported by the AP and ABC news. Perry was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, California, on October 28, 2023. Prosecutors said that Perry bought ketamine from Sangha four days before his death. Sangha pled guilty to five federal charges, including one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10. Read on for more criminal law news.
State v. Moore: Some Foundation Required for DRE Testimony
In light of the recent Court of Appeals opinion State v. Moore, this post is a follow-up to the 2018 blog post State v. Fincher: No Foundation Required for DRE Testimony by my colleague Shea Denning.
Rule 702 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence governs the admissibility of expert testimony. Rule 702(a) requires the proponent to show that the expert testimony is based on sufficient facts or data (Rule 702(a)(1)), the product of reliable principles and methods (Rule 702(a)(2)), and the result of the witness reliably applying the principles and methods to the facts of the case (Rule 702(a)(3)). That said, there are circumstances where the proponent is not required to make these showings. Rule 702(a1)(2) permits a witness to give expert testimony about whether a person was impaired, and by what category of impairing substance, “notwithstanding any other provision of law” when the witness holds a current certification as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). In a case of first impression, the Court of Appeals held that the proponent of expert testimony by a witness properly certified as a DRE must nonetheless meet the showing required by Rule 702(a)(3) that the testimony is the result of the witness reliably applying the principles and methods to the facts of the case. Read on for more detail.
Legislature Revisits Law on Immigration Detainers
A few months ago, I blogged about the legislative changes that took effect last year surrounding the processing of defendants who are subject to immigration detainers. The North Carolina General Assembly revisited the topic this legislative session in S.L. 2025-85 (H 318). Effective October 1, 2025, the law modifies some of the provisions enacted by S.L. 2024-55 (H 10) and creates a new pretrial release procedure that requires judicial officials to determine legal residency for defendants charged with certain offenses.
News Roundup
For the third week, federal forces continue to perform law enforcement duties in the District of Columbia pursuant to President Trump’s efforts to combat an alleged epidemic of crime there. This is despite the Department of Justice’s data indicating that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has instructed federal prosecutors to seek the highest possible charges against arrestees and to attempt to hold arrestees in pretrial detention. Some law enforcement encounters have raised questions about their legality, with a local U.S. Magistrate Judge recently describing one case as involving “the most illegal search I’ve ever seen in my life,” according to this report. Separately, the executive branch has announced plans to similarly deploy federal law enforcement in other cities like Chicago and New York, according to this story. Read on for more criminal law news.
Warrantless Review of Electronic Monitoring Data: Cases Outside North Carolina
In February, I blogged about State v. Thomas, 295 N.C. App. 564 (2024), and whether law enforcement can review ankle-monitoring data without a warrant. The defendant in Thomas was on post-release supervision when officers pulled his location data, and the Court of Appeals upheld the warrantless retrieval of the data. However, questions remain about whether a warrant is necessary when a supervisee is on probation or pretrial release. Although North Carolina appellate courts have not directly addressed these questions, courts outside the state have in recent years. This post examines some of the cases.