Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
As I explain in more detail here, notice and demand statutes allow the State to obtain a constitutional waiver of confrontation rights so that forensic lab reports and related items […]
News Roundup
The biggest news locally this week was the General Assembly’s passage of S 416, which will dramatically alter, if not effectively repeal, the Racial Justice Act. I summarized the bill […]
Notice of Implied Consent Rights: West Coast Edition
Two earlier posts (here and here) explore whether North Carolina’s implied consent statutes or the U.S. Constitution require that notice of implied consent rights be provided in language that a […]
What Is a Judge’s Commission?
Every now and then someone asks about the significance of a trial judge’s commission. Just what is a judge’s commission, when is it needed, where does it come from, and […]
Weaving and Reasonable Suspicion
Drunk drivers have difficulty driving in a straight line. Therefore, police officers frequently stop drivers who are weaving, suspecting them of impaired driving. Until very recently, it seemed that the […]
Evaluating The Circumstantial Murder Case
In recent years there has been a spate of cases assessing the sufficiency of the evidence in murder prosecutions where the State’s case is built on circumstantial evidence. A recent […]
News Roundup
There were so many significant and interesting stories this week, it’s hard to decide where to begin. But I’ve settled on this USA Today story about federal inmates serving sentences […]
No Contact Orders for Sex Offenders
Under G.S. 15A-1340.50, a judge may issue a permanent no contact order prohibiting a sex offender from coming into contact with the victim of his or her offense. According to […]
4th Circuit Ruling: Child’s Statements to Social Worker Are Non-testimonial
The U.S. Supreme Court’s new Crawford confrontation clause rule has had significant impact in child victim prosecutions, largely because of problems with getting children to testify. One frequent Crawford question […]
Second Amendment Update
In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the United States Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess firearms for lawful purposes […]