Mello and “Loitering for Drugs” Ordinances
Can a municipality adopt an ordinance that criminalizes loitering for the purpose of drug activity? I’ve been asked that question several times, and in fact, a number of North Carolina […]
The New Felony Sentencing Grid
For the first time since 1995 we have a new felony punishment chart for Structured Sentencing. Two pieces of legislation from the past session, S.L. 2009-555 and S.L. 2009-556, made […]
New Publication on Electronic Search and Seizure
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m especially interested in the law regarding electronic communications and electronic evidence. (For one thing, it allows me to look at web sites like Gizmodo and […]
Sentencing in Impaired Driving Cases
I first encountered North Carolina’s impaired driving sentencing scheme several years ago when I worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of North Carolina. I represented […]
State v. Mobley: Green Light to the Use of Substitute Analysts
In previous posts [editor’s note: her prior posts are here and here] I have written about the developing North Carolina law on the use of substitute analysts after Melendez-Diaz. In […]
Belated Halloween Edition
As a runner and a criminal lawyer, I found this story irresistable. The short version is that the police in Boulder, Colorado decided to stamp out the Naked Pumpkin Run, […]
Follow Me on Twitter
With nothing terribly interesting or important going on in the world of criminal sentencing, it seemed as good a time as any to engage in some blatant self-promotion. For much […]
News Roundup
Even leaving aside the saga at the Board of Elections, there have been too many interesting news stories lately to ignore. 1. The News and Observe has this story about […]
Waiving Probation Supervision Fees
Under G.S. 15A-1343(c1), defendants placed on supervised probation must pay a monthly supervision fee of $30, unless exempted by the court. That exemption may only be granted for good cause […]
Traffic Stops, Part II
I noted yesterday that a law enforcement officer conducting a traffic stop may order the driver and any passengers out of the vehicle. It’s also reasonably clear that the officer […]