A UNC School of Government Blog
Jeff previously posted news items about North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act (RJA), including one here updating readers on the bill’s path to law, and one here about actual RJA filings. I was recently told by the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts that there now are at least 204 filed RJA motions. Although most of … Read more
It was an absolutely fascinating news week. Among the noteworthy stories: 1. In Graham v. Florida, discussed here, the United States Supreme Court held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for a non-homicide offense. Several recent cases ask whether Graham marks the outer limit of the … Read more
I mentioned in my last post that State v. Bowditch was not the only satellite-based monitoring (SBM) case recently decided by the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The court also affirmed four other decisions from the court of appeals and decided it had improvidently allowed discretionary review in another. Although those decisions turned in part … Read more
I’ve been involved in the North Carolina Bar Association for a number of years, and this year, I’m the chair of the Criminal Justice Section. My work with the NCBA fits well with my work at the School of Government, because broadly, both organizations are dedicated to improving the court system and the professionalism of … Read more
I was out of the office when the Supreme Court of North Carolina released its latest batch of opinions, so I’m just now getting around to writing about big news related to satellite-based monitoring (SBM) of sex offenders. In State v. Bowditch, the state high court concluded that SBM is not a criminal punishment, and … Read more
The New York Times recently published this piece on Google cars that drive themselves. And we’re not just talking about steering a straight line down the interstate. One car even navigated the hairpin turns on San Francisco’s famously curvy Lombard Street. The cars use navigation systems and software capable of sensing nearby objects and reacting … Read more
My favorite story this week is this report about a proposed ordinance in East Laurinburg. The ordinance “would charge people with indecent exposure if the top of their pants or skirt hangs 3 inches or more below the waistline.” Folks on both sides seems to have put some thought into one-liners about the ordinance, with the … Read more
I wrote here about the court of appeals decision in State v. Mumford, __ N.C. App. ___, 688 S.E.2d 458 (2010), vacating the defendant’s convictions for felony serious injury by vehicle based on his acquittal of driving while impaired, a lesser included offense. The state supreme court reversed the court of appeals on Friday, holding … Read more
I’ve had a couple of questions about the same topic recently, so I thought I’d do a quick blog post about it. Our appellate courts have made clear that normally, “it is improper to make reference to the disposition of charges against a codefendant.” State v. Campbell, 296 N.C. 394 (1979). See also State v. … Read more
As the current edition of North Carolina Crimes explains, “[o]bstructing justice consists of any act that prevents, obstructs, impedes, or hinders public or legal justice, and it may take many forms.” Jessica Smith, North Carolina Crimes 451 (6th ed. 2007). The breadth of this common-law offense was recently highlighted by the court of appeals in … Read more