Is Automatism or Involuntary Intoxication a Defense to DWI? (February 28, 2012)
Shea Denning
Since the start of the new year, I’ve been meaning to return to the court of appeals’ December 2011 opinion in State v. Clowers, __ N.C. App. __ , 720 […]
N.C. Court of Appeals Rules that Padilla Is Not Retroactive (February 27, 2012)
Jessica Smith
In a post here, a former colleague [editor’s note: the post has my picture on it but as the byline notes, it was written by Sejal Zota] wrote about Padilla […]
News Roundup (February 24, 2012)
Jeff Welty
I can’t stop writing about Fayetteville! The city council’s 120-day moratorium on consent searches by the police during traffic stops came under fire this week from several angles. First, the […]
The Statewide Misdemeanant Confinement Program (February 23, 2012)
Jamie Markham
In this prior post, I wrote about how Justice Reinvestment changed the rules for determining where a person serves his or her sentence. Today’s post takes a closer look at […]
Interrogation in Jail or Prison Isn’t Always “Custodial” (February 22, 2012)
Jeff Welty
Under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), before an officer may begin a custodial interrogation of a suspect, the officer must advise the suspect of certain rights, such as […]
Consent DVPOs without Findings of Fact Are Void ab Initio (February 21, 2012)
Jeff Welty
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 (February 20, 2012)
Jessica Smith
“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 (February 17, 2012)
Jeff Welty
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 (February 16, 2012)
Jeff Welty
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? (February 15, 2012)
Shea Denning
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 […]