News Roundup
Nationally, the biggest piece of criminal law news this week was that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill that repeals the death penalty in Illinois. He also […]
The 300-Foot Rule
The News & Observer ran an article last weekend about some of the restrictions on where sex offenders are allowed to live or go. One of the laws mentioned was […]
Juror Compensation
I was reading the News and Observer this morning over breakfast and saw this story about jury selection in a Wake County murder case. The thrust of the story will […]
Checklists
At a recent CLE, Charlotte defense attorney Chris Fialko mentioned that he’s been enjoying Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto. Chris is a pretty sharp guy, and I had a […]
The Cook Case and the Right of Allocution
I don’t generally write about pending cases. But the high-profile homicide trial of Raymond Cook has recently wrapped up, and there’s a discrete aspect of the case that I found […]
News Roundup
With the General Assembly in session and the Supreme Court in term, each week brings a flood of interesting news. The top story this week was probably the Court’s decision […]
Where Are We with Drug ID?
Jeff wrote last June about the North Carolina Supreme Court’s opinion in State v. Ward, which held that the trial court abused its discretion by permitting an expert chemist to […]
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 […]