A UNC School of Government Blog
I’m traveling today with only an iPad and inconsistent Wifi for Internet access, so pardon the short post and untidy formatting in what has been a VERY interesting news week. 1. The court of appeals heard the electronic sweepstakes case this week, as the News and Observer notes here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/10/26/1595110/court-weighs-video-gaming.html 2. John Edwards lost his motions … Read more
Jill Moore, one of my colleagues who works in the area of public health law, recently posted on the School of Government’s local government law blog about health care providers’ obligation to report certain injuries to law enforcement. It’s an issue that comes up from time to time, and I thought that our readers would … Read more
I’ve recently been asked by several people whether it is lawful to require officers to issue a certain number of citations, or to make a certain number of arrests, per day or per month. Generally, I think it is lawful, subject to some important caveats. Let me start by noting that the use of quotas … Read more
When analysts from the Council of State Governments studied North Carolina’s sentencing laws and correctional system, one of their key findings was that revoked probationers account for a lot of new entries to prison each year—more than half. The Justice Reinvestment Act (S.L. 2011-192) responds to that finding in several ways, one of which is … Read more
Police officers, city and county attorneys, private citizens and others frequently inquire about the circumstances under which the owner of private property may arrange for a vehicle parked on that property to be towed by a private towing company. The first place people generally look for an answer is G.S. 20-219.2, which seems logical, given … Read more
Regular readers may have noticed that I fell down on the job and didn’t get a post up on Wednesday. Sorry about that! It’s been a busy week with the various court officials’ conferences. But it’s also been busy in the wider world: 1. The North Carolina Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section is preparing for … Read more
An indictment defect is a boon for the defense and a disaster for the prosecution. Simply put an indictment is defective when it fails to allege an essential element of the crime. Because fatal defects are jurisdictional, they can be raised at any time—at trial, on appeal, or post-conviction—and can never be waived. A closely … Read more
Want to frighten your 16 or 17-year-old this Halloween? Tell her that if she is charged with speeding more than 15 mph over the speed limit, she’ll be arrested and she’ll lose her license. It may sound scary, but, after January 1, 2012, it is true. I’ve written before about the new civil license revocation … Read more
In response to my recent post (here) about waivers of counsel, a number of you emailed asking me to write about forfeiture of the right to counsel. Your wish is my command. Although cases sometimes confuse the terms, waiver is different from forfeiture. A waiver of counsel involves a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent relinquishment of … Read more
Perhaps the biggest criminal law story here in North Carolina this week was the appointment of former court of appeals judge Joe John as the director of the State Crime Lab. The News and Observer reports here that Judge “John’s appointment was on the unanimous recommendation of an advisory committee that included defense attorneys.” Judge … Read more