The right to appeal an order in a delinquency matter is established in G.S. 7B-2602 (Right to appeal) and G.S. 7B-2603 (Right to appeal transfer decision). These statutes do not […]
Nationally, the biggest criminal law story this week was the sentencing of James and Jennifer Crumbley. They’re the parents of Ethan Crumbley, who was a student at Oxford High School […]
The North Carolina Court of Appeals first recognized the concept of waiver by conduct in State v. Blakeney, 245 N.C. App. 452 (2016). There, the Court set forth three ways […]
In Part I of my Spring 2024 cannabis update, I discussed the search and seizure issues arising in North Carolina courts around cannabis. Part II explores drug identification evidence issues […]
Robbery is larceny from the person by violence or intimidation. The exact relationship between the taking and the violence is vexing. There is authority for the proposition that the use […]
It has been a while since my last post on cannabis and criminal law issues, and it is past time for an update. In addition to a number of state […]
Reuters reports that threats against federal judges have substantially increased over the last several years. Threats deemed “serious” by the U.S. Marshals Service rose from 179 incidents in 2019 to […]
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 2, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly approved funding to create eight new public defender districts. The eight new districts will cover twenty-two counties. Once they are in place, sixty […]
By now, court officials are familiar with the pretrial release laws as amended by the Pretrial Integrity Act. The application of G.S. 15A-533(b) regarding defendants charged with certain high-level felonies […]