Jury Argument — Part I
Issues regarding the permissible scope of jury argument are becoming commonplace in N.C. criminal cases. In a series of posts, I’ll address some recurring issues that arise regarding the content […]
News Roundup
It is still safe – legally speaking – to drive around Chapel Hill while talking on a cell phone. Recall that the town has banned cell phone usage while driving, […]
Strip Searches of Arrestees at the Jail after Florence
I’m just getting back to work after a leave of absence, and I’m still getting caught up on some major cases that were decided while I was out. One such […]
DWI Parole: How Does It Really Work?
A few months ago, I taught a session on DWI sentencing to a group of judges. As part of that session, I reviewed the rules for determining the parole-eligibility of […]
Supreme Court Update
Today, I wanted to note two timely and interesting items concerning the United States Supreme Court. First, the Court just granted certiorari in Chaidez v. United States, a case that […]
Child Victims and the Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Hearsay Exception
Child victim cases often present an array of challenging evidence issues. In a paper here I addressed many of those issues. One common question that folks contact me about is […]
News Roundup
This has been a busy but inspiring week for me, as we have had over 40 new prosecutors here at the School of Government for training. It is always a […]
Men Behaving Very Badly
As part of its ongoing coverage of the John Edwards trial, The News and Observer reported today that Edwards’ lawyer cross-examined former Edwards aide Andrew Young by reading from pages […]
Advanced (Un)Supervised Release
In this earlier post I wrote about Advanced Supervised Release (ASR), a new program created by the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) that allows certain defendants to be released from prison […]
First Ruling Under the Racial Justice Act
Last Friday, Cumberland County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks issued the first merits ruling on a claim under the Racial Justice Act (“RJA”), G.S. 15A-2010 et seq. Judge […]