The Financial Crisis and the Death Penalty
According to a news article available here, several states are considering eliminating the death penalty as a way to save money. The issue has sparked some interest in the blogosphere, […]
Multiple Assault Convictions Based on the Same Conduct
North Carolina has a number of different assault crimes, like simple assault, assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon, and so on. We also have a confusing body […]
Gun-Toting Felons
North Carolina law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms. See G.S. 14-415.1. I’ve had several recurrent questions about this offense, so here’s an FAQ about FIP (felon in possession): 1. […]
Prayer for Judgment Continued
It has become clear to me in my work with judges and lawyers around the state that use of prayer for judgment continued—a practice virtually unique to North Carolina, at […]
News Roundup
This post simply highlights and links to some of the criminal law news that’s broken over the last few days, since there’s been an unusual amount of it. First, the […]
New Cases on the Rape Shield Law
The Court of Appeals decided two rape shield cases this month — State v. Cook and State v. Adu — and Cook, in particular, is a good illustration of how […]
Proposed Changes to Sentencing Laws
With the growing prison population and the shrinking budget, there’s some talk of changes to North Carolina’s sentencing laws. An article in the paper last week made general reference to […]
Recording Interrogations
A couple of sessions ago, the General Assembly enacted G.S. 15A-211, which requires that custodial interrogations in homicide cases be recorded. The idea is to “eliminate disputes about interrogations,” id., […]
Investigative Court Orders
I am teaching today, so I only have time for a quick post on a subject that crops up from time to time: how can the state compel access to […]
U Visas for Undocumented Crime Victims
Criminal lawyers are paying more attention to immigration issues in cases where the defendant is not a United States citizen, and that’s a good thing. But my sense is that […]