Case Summary: McElrath v. Georgia (SCOTUS)
This post summarizes McElrath v. Georgia from the Supreme Court of the United States, decided on February 21, 2024. This summary will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Within the Four Corners: Scouring Indictments for Missing Elements in State v. Jackson and State v. Coffey.
Two recent opinions from the Court of Appeals illustrate the remarkable controversy currently underway over the specificity required of indictments. In State v. Coffey, No. COA22-883, 2024 WL 675881 (N.C. […]
Immigration Consequences of DV Offenses: Crimes of Domestic Violence
A noncitizen can lose status—that is, the right to be in the U.S.—and be forced to leave if he or she comes within a ground of deportability. In general, the […]
News Roundup
A bill to “recriminalize” the possession of certain dangerous drugs is moving forward in Oregon. Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (March 5, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 5, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
State v. C.K.D.: Knoll What?
I have written before about the cache associated with a handful of unpublished opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Sure, they aren’t binding, but they can be persuasive. […]
The Violent Crime Rate in North Carolina Was Down Again in 2022
The national crime rate continues to attract a lot of media attention, but I haven’t seen much on North Carolina-specific crime data. In late 2022, I wrote about the violent […]
Congratulations to Newly Certified Magistrates
Magistrates are often referred to as the “first face” of the judicial system for most citizens. They serve the public with professionalism, all while keeping abreast of the rapidly changing […]
News Roundup
Bankman-Fried sentencing. Regular readers know that I’m interested in the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX. I even read a book about Bankman-Fried, which […]
New Projects in Policing & Responding: Evaluating the Impact of Alternative Responses to Crisis Calls
In partnership with the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police and local stakeholders, the UNC School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab (the Lab) is conducting two evaluations of […]