Prosecutors’ Civil Liability for Brady Violations
The United States Supreme Court decided Connick v. Thompson yesterday. In a nutshell, the plaintiff, John Thompson, spent 18 years in prison as a result of a Brady violation. After […]
Worthless Postdated Checks
Under G.S. 14-107, it’s a Class 2 misdemeanor to write a check, “knowing at the time . . . that [the check-writer doesn’t have] sufficient funds on deposit . . […]
When Does DWI Resulting in Death Amount to Second Degree Murder?
Jeff wrote here about a recent high-profile case in which a defendant, Raymond Cook, was charged with multiple felony offenses after he drove while impaired and crashed into a young […]
News Roundup
Duke took it on the chin last night, losing to a confident, athletic Arizona team. That’s the basketball roundup. Now for the criminal law roundup: 1. The Conference of District […]
Michigan v. Bryant, Part III
In my first two posts, I explored the Bryant opinions. Today I’ll discuss what the case means for confrontation clause analysis going forward. 1. Although Crawford is intact, the Court […]
Michigan v. Bryant, Part II
In my last post, I looked at the majority opinion in Bryant. Today, I’ll discuss the other opinions, focusing on Scalia’s dissent. In my final post on this issue, I’ll […]
Michigan v. Bryant, Part I
On February 28, 2011, the United States Supreme Court decided Michigan v. Bryant, its latest Crawford case. In an opinion written by Justice Sotomayor, the Court held that a homicide […]
New North Carolina Legislation on Good Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rules
[Editor’s note: This is Bob’s first post. We’re excited to welcome him to the blog.] With the Governor’s signature on March 18, 2011, House Bill 3 became law (Session Law […]
News Roundup
The biggest news of the last few days, of course, is that Kyrie Irving is expected to return to the court when Duke plays Hampton this afternoon. (OK, the biggest […]
Confrontation at Probation Violation Hearings
Under G.S. 15A-1345(e), a probationer is entitled at a probation violation hearing to “confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses unless the court finds good cause for not allowing confrontation.” What does […]