The court of appeals issued three opinions on Tuesday involving satellite-based monitoring (SBM) of sex offenders. In all three, offenders challenged trial court determinations that they had to enroll in […]
Suppose that both the local police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration suspect that Derek is selling drugs. The police are a step ahead, and they arrest Derek and charge […]
Jeff wrote here about the court of appeals’ April 20, 2010 opinion in State v. Hopper (Hopper I), which analyzed when an officer’s mistaken beliefs can support an investigative stop. […]
I blogged about judges’ salaries here. An article in the USA Today this morning prompted me to think a little bit about prosecutors’ pay. The article, available here, reports on […]
The top of the news today is that the Attorney General has removed and reassigned SBI director Robin Pendergraft and has at least temporarily stopped the work of “bloodstain pattern […]
I am sometimes asked if a conviction for which prayer for judgment has been continued (a PJC) can be expunged. It’s a sensible question, given—as I’ll discuss in a moment—that […]
Rule of Professional Conduct 3.4(b) states that it is improper to “offer an inducement to a witness that is prohibited by law.” Comment 3 to the rule states that “[t]he […]
Some recent celebrity news has made me think about our extortion statute. The statute is G.S. 14-118.4, and it says: Any person who threatens or communicates a threat or threats […]
I’ve blogged previously about the Britt and Whitaker cases. Britt held that a particular convicted felon retained his right to bear arms under the state constitution, and that G.S. 14-415.1 […]
Lots of interesting stuff this week. Without further ado: 1. The front page of the News and Observer today has a story that begins as follows: “Someone accused of killing […]