News Roundup
Tomorrow’s a UNC holiday, so I’m rounding up the week’s news a day early. 1. Professor Matthew Robinson of Appalachian State University released a new death penalty study this week, […]
The Name Game
One of my regular daily reads is the prosecution-oriented blog Crime and Consequences. This recent post reminded me of an issue I struggled with in practice, and which many readers […]
Hip Pocket Jail Time for Probationers
The rules for sentencing a defendant to special probation—a split sentence—are set out in G.S. 15A-1351(a). Under that law, the court can order as part of a probationary sentence that […]
United States Supreme Court to Review GPS Tracking Case?
Remember United States v. Maynard, 615 F.3d 544 (D.C. Cir. 2010)? That’s the drug case in which the D.C. Circuit held that “prolonged GPS monitoring [of a suspect] defeats an […]
News Roundup
It’s been almost two weeks, so there’s been more news than I can reasonably cram into a news roundup. But I’ll try! 1. The General Assembly’s in session. They’re working […]
You Don’t Know What You’ve Got When It’s Gone
Or, Seeking Dismissal Based on the State’s Destruction of Evidence Unpublished court of appeals opinions occasionally assume the cache of bootleg recordings of live performances of the Grateful Dead. If […]
Lay Opinion about Drug Activity
I came across an interesting out-of-state case today. In State v. McLean, __ A.3d __ (N.J. Mar. 31, 2011), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that an officer who […]
Armed Robbery and Representations about Weapons
Twice each year, the School of Government welcomes newly-appointed magistrates for two weeks of training. Part of the curriculum involves learning the elements of common crimes. When I teach the […]
New Drug Crimes
The legislature has passed, and the Governor has signed, new S.L. 2011-12, which creates three new Schedule I drugs, defines certain synthetic cannabinoids as Schedule VI drugs, and makes several […]
Habitual Drug Trafficking
As most of you probably know, G.S. 90-95(h) sets out special sentencing rules for drug trafficking offenses, including mandatory fines and minimum and maximum sentences that apply regardless of the […]