A UNC School of Government Blog
Consider the following excerpts from a penalty phase closing argument in a capital case: “[D]on’t look to [the defendant] for sympathy, because he demands none. And, ladies and gentlemen, when you turn and look at [the defendant], don’t look for good deeds, because he has done none. Don’t look for good thoughts, because he has … Read more
Jeff Welty blogged here about inconsistent verdicts. As he explained, a defendant generally isn’t entitled to relief from inconsistent verdicts, which may result from jury irrationality, a jury’s desire to cut the defendant a break, or some other unknown reason. The defendant is protected by the court’s review of whether substantial evidence supports the charge … Read more
There’s been lots of interesting criminal law news in the last week or so. 1. Duke University researchers are all over the death penalty debate. According to this News and Observer story, Duke economist Philip Cook has concluded that North Carolina would save $11 million per year by eliminating the death penalty. Meanwhile, Duke sociologists … Read more
Earlier this week, the court of appeals decided State v. Simmons, a search and seizure case that should interest officers, lawyers, and judges. The facts are simple: an officer stopped a driver for not wearing his seat belt. It turned out the the driver’s license was revoked, so the officer cited the driver for that, … Read more
In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachussetts, the United States Supreme Court held that forensic laboratory reports—such as those identifying a substance as a controlled substance—are testimonial and subject to the new Crawford Confrontation Clause rule. For more detail on that decision, you can review a paper posted here. Under the Crawford rule, testimonial statements by declarants who … Read more
Sometimes, a defendant is charged under the wrong name. This usually happens when the defendant gives a false name upon arrest. When this is discovered, what should be done? There are two options. First, the state can dismiss the case, re-charge the defendant under the correct name, and encourage the person whose name was used … Read more
Defendants often stipulate to prior convictions for the purpose of establishing their prior record level. Form AOC-CR-600, the prior record level/prior conviction level worksheet, includes a section (Section III, at the top of Side Two) to note that that stipulation. The court of appeals said in State v. Hussey, __ N.C. App. __ (2008), that … Read more
First off, sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I was laid up with food poisoning — I blame holiday leftovers! I’m much better today, so on to today’s topic, which is really recurrent. Suppose that a landlord tells the friend of a tenant that the friend can’t come on the property owned by the landlord but … Read more
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently decided In re J.D.B., a close and interesting juvenile case. I mentioned it briefly here when it divided the court of appeals. It has implications well beyond the juvenile context, which I’ll unpack at the end of this post. The basic facts are as follows: Chapel Hill police suspected … Read more
Considering how close we are to the holidays, there’s been a surprising amount of activity in the criminal law world lately. Stories of interest include the following: 1. The Bowden saga continues, but appears to be headed for a decisive conclusion: the North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to review, on an expedited basis, the … Read more