State v. Fletcher and Warrantless Blood Draws
I’ve blogged before about G.S. 20-139.1(d1). When a DWI arrestee refuses to submit to a test for alcohol, that section allows “any law enforcement officer with probable cause” to “compel […]
Fingerprinting Uncooperative Defendants
From time to time, an officer or a magistrate asks how to respond when a defendant who is properly subject to fingerprinting under G.S. 15A-502 refuses to be fingerprinted. There […]
News Roundup (Sort of)
There have been several interesting criminal law new stories this week. I want to focus mainly on one with a local connection, but I’ll note briefly this New York Times […]
Electronic Evidence
Regular readers know that I have a particular interest in the intersection of new technologies and criminal law. But I am not the only person at the School of Government […]
Sentence Reduction Credits and Parole for DWI Inmates
Last April, I wrote a post touching on the sentence reduction credit rules applicable to DWI inmates. In short, DWI inmates fall under the same “good time” credit rules applicable […]
Spisak
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 […]
State v. Mumford: A New Exception Affording Relief from Inconsistent Verdicts
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 […]
News Roundup
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 […]
“Cigar Guts”
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 […]
North Carolina’s Notice and Demand Statute for Chemical Analyses in Drug Cases Is Constitutional
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 […]