News Roundup
Earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters have been top-of-mind for most North Carolina residents this week. Not for me, though. I have remained focused like a laser beam on tracking […]
How to Take a Waiver of Counsel
[Editor’s note: For a discussion of waivers in the context of probation violation proceedings, see Jamie Markham’s recent post here.] In the last batch of N.C. Court of Appeals’ decisions […]
DWI Sentencing Changes
In addition to enacting the aggravated level one punishment for impaired driving discussed here, the 2011 General Assembly amended the requirements for imposing a Level One impaired driving sentence, effective […]
Concealment in Plain Sight?
As I mentioned in a recent post, I really enjoy working with magistrates, in part because of the excellent questions they ask. Here’s one that came up recently: if a […]
Waivers of Counsel at Probation Violation Hearings
In North Carolina a probationer has a statutory right to counsel at a probation violation hearing. G.S. 15A-1345(e); G.S. 7A-451(a)(4). The probationer can also waive the right to assistance of […]
News Roundup
[Editor’s note: I’m on vacation Friday, so I’m posting this roundup Thursday night.] We welcomed a group of new magistrates at the School of Government this week. I like working […]
Armed Robbery by an Unarmed Defendant
The court of appeals recently held that a defendant who was initially unarmed, then stole a weapon from a victim, was properly convicted of armed robbery because the defendant was […]
The New Law of Self Defense?
[Editor’s note: John is the author of The Law of Self-Defense in North Carolina, an in-depth analysis of North Carolina’s approach to the use of defensive force. It’s available for […]
Maintaining a Dwelling — Part II
The crime of maintaining a dwelling has four elements. To be guilty, a person must: (1) knowingly (2) keep or maintain (3) a store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, […]
Maintaining a Dwelling
The crime of Maintaining a Store, Dwelling, Vehicle, Boat, or Other Place for Use, Storage, or Sale of Controlled Substances is a common one. In fact, AOC statistics show that […]