News Roundup
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in his “hush money” trial in New York yesterday, making him the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (May 23, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on May 23, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Confidential Informants, Motions to Reveal Identity, and Discovery: Part II, What Statutes Apply?
In Part I of a series of posts on confidential informants, I revisited the landmark case of U.S. v. Roviaro, which began when a Chicago police officer hid in the […]
Disposition Continuance to Provide for Time in Secure Custody Not Allowed
Are there limits on the court’s ability to continue the dispositional hearing in a delinquency case? The Court of Appeals recently identified one limit In re D.R.F., Jr., ____ N.C.App. […]
News Roundup
The trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump for alleged falsification of business records is nearing its conclusion. The prosecution’s key witness, Michael Cohen, was on the stand for four […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (May 21, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on May 21, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
When May the State Use Evidence of a Defendant’s Silence Before Trial?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the prohibition against the State commenting on a defendant’s failure to testify, or, in other words, a defendant’s silence at trial. Such […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (April 2024)
This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions of interest from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2024. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit criminal cases can be found […]
Changes to Basic Law Enforcement Training
With few exceptions, new law enforcement officers in North Carolina are required to complete a course called Basic Law Enforcement Training, or BLET. The curriculum for the course is established […]
News Roundup
It sounds like there’s a criminal trial of some kind going on in New York, but the big trial this week here in North Carolina was the retrial of self-proclaimed […]