Class H and I Felonies in District Court
Under G.S. 7A-272(c), the district court has jurisdiction to accept a defendant’s plea of guilty or no contest to a Class H or I felony in certain circumstances. The law […]
Trial in the Defendant’s Absence
[Editor’s note: Sorry there was no post yesterday. I was out of town and had technical trouble that made it impossible to access the blog.] Can a defendant be tried […]
News Roundup
Lots of news again this week. 1. The News and Observer ran this story, the opening line of which is “[e]very case former State Bureau of Investigation Agent Duane Deaver […]
Eyeglasses, Dress Clothes, and Tattoos
According to this recent article in the ABA Journal, criminal defense lawyers “[i]ncreasingly . . . are asking their clients to wear glasses during jury trials,” believing that juries will […]
Reduction or Dismissal of Charges in Implied Consent Cases
A wise man once said that “[e]xcept for death penalty cases, no sentence requires more documentation” than a sentence imposed for the misdemeanor offense of driving while impaired. Ben F. […]
Miranda and Field Sobriety Tests
Normally, field sobriety tests are administered before an arrest is made, as part of an officer’s investigation into a possible DWI. In that case, it’s clear that the officer need […]
Knowingly Exposing Others to Communicable Diseases
Suppose that A, who has HIV and knows it, has unprotected sex with B, who doesn’t have HIV. A doesn’t warn B. Has A committed a crime? Yes. At a […]
News Roundup
What a week! The news stories just kept coming. It started off over the weekend, when the News and Observer published this interesting article about upcoming appellate arguments over the […]
The Sexual Assault Exception to the “Bare Fact” Rule
Yesterday, I taught a class on the use of Rule 404(b) evidence in sexual assault cases. During the class, we discussed the general rule against admitting the bare fact of […]
Assaults: One Conviction or Two?
Jeff previously blogged about multiple assault convictions based on the same conduct, distinguishing double jeopardy issues from statutory interpretation issues. In this post, I will hone in on the statutory […]