Consent DVPOs without Findings of Fact Are Void ab Initio
The court of appeals recently decided Kenton v. Kenton, a civil case of major significance for criminal lawyers. In a nutshell, a wife sought a domestic violence protective order (DVPO) […]
It’s Testimonial, Stupid
“It’s the economy, stupid,” was a catch phrase in Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign. I have my own catch phrase, but it’s for trying drug cases. Here it is: […]
News Roundup
There’s been a lot going on this week. The first evidentiary hearing under the Racial Justice Act has come to an end. The Fayetteville Observer reports on the parties’ closing […]
Coming Mbacke to an Old Topic: Vehicle Searches Incident to Arrest
The Supreme Court of North Carolina recently decided State v. Mbacke, an important case about searches incident to arrest. I mentioned Mbacke briefly in this prior post, which noted that […]
The Forcible Extraction of Blood in Impaired Driving Cases: How Much Force Is Too Much Force?
The lead story in the January 30, 2012 issue of North Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly was headlined “Necessary’s Restraint: The night police officer Richard Necessary sat on a drunk-driving suspect in […]
Restitution
Our appellate courts spend a lot of time writing about restitution. Consequently, so do I. Prior posts discuss some of the thornier restitution issues that come up from time to […]
Use of a Defendant’s Pre- and Post-Arrest Silence at Trial
The N.C. Court of Appeals’ recent decision in State v. Harrison raises an issue that arises with some frequency in N.C. criminal trials: When can the State use evidence of […]
News Roundup
Last week’s top stories are still going, including litigation under the Racial Justice Act in Fayetteville. The Fayetteville Observer’s latest story is here, summarizing the testimony of the state’s statistician. […]
Passwords and the Fifth Amendment
Several years ago, I blogged about a case in which the government sought to compel a criminal defendant to provide the password to his encrypted computer, or at least, to […]
FAQs About CRV
Under amended G.S. 15A-1344(a), for probation violations occurring on or after December 1, 2011, a court may only revoke probation for a violation of the “commit no criminal offense” condition […]