A UNC School of Government Blog
Recall from yesterday’s post that we are considering the following scenario: Jay Jones is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and given an unsecured bond of $1,000. He is convicted following a bench trial in district court. Noting that Jones is a prior conviction level III and has previously violated probation, the judge imposes an … Read more
Jay Jones is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and given an unsecured bond of $1,000. He is convicted following a bench trial in district court. Noting that Jones is a prior conviction level III and has previously violated probation, the judge imposes an active sentence of 120 days. Jones enters notice of appeal in … Read more
Jeff wrote earlier this week about roadside strip searches. Today’s post is about strip searches of arrestees as they are booked into the jail. The longstanding rule regarding searches of arrestees as they are processed into the jail is that they may not be strip searched without reasonable suspicion that they are concealing a weapon … Read more
I am dumbfounded by the rapid pace of criminal law news over the past week or so. Some news items that may be of interest: 1. Unless you’ve sworn off TV, radio, the internet, and all communication with your fellow humans, you probably know that a three-judge panel in Wake County exonerated Greg Taylor this … Read more
I’ve been asked several times whether the state is required to provide the defense with the criminal record of the state’s witnesses. There are two possible justifications for such a requirement. First, one could argue that disclosure is mandated by the discovery statutes, G.S. 15A-901 et seq. Second, one could argue that disclosure is required … Read more
The Court of Appeals just decided State v. Battle, a case about roadside strip searches. It’s an important case for judges, lawyers, and especially officers. A confidential and reliable informant told police that Battle, her boyfriend, and another man would be going to Durham to buy cocaine, and returning by a specific route in a … Read more
My colleague John Rubin recently completed two new papers that may be useful to you. The first is 2009 Legislation Affecting Criminal Law and Procedure. The name pretty much says it all — it summarizes what the General Assembly did last session regarding criminal law. The paper is available free of charge here. The second … Read more
What does it mean to access a computer without authorization? It’s an important question. North Carolina’s computer crime statutes appear at G.S. 14-453 et seq. Among other things, the statutes make it illegal “willfully and without authorization . . . [to] access[] . . . any computer.” The crime of unauthorized access is more serious … Read more
I’ve bumped into a couple recent cases in which law enforcement officers have requested consent to search a car and have received ambiguous responses. (For a discussion of when officers may ask for consent to search during a traffic stop, see this prior post and the linked document.) I thought I’d share the cases and … Read more
Although others may be distracted by tonight’s Duke-UNC basketball game, we at the School of Government remain laser-focused on emerging criminal law issues. And several interesting issues have been in the news lately: 1. The News and Observer reports today on the Wake County hearing concerning Greg Taylor. Taylor was convicted of murder, but the … Read more