Can a Child Be a Passenger on a Motorcycle?
I was driving around with my younger daughter this weekend when she said “I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle.” She’s ten, so she’s obviously too young to pilot one herself. […]
News Roundup
A longtime North Carolina resident and former professor at East Carolina University was reportedly responsible for a mass shooting on the campus of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 5, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 5, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
2023 Criminal Legislative Summaries
Each year the School of Government summarizes legislation enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly affecting criminal law and procedure and motor vehicle laws. The summaries for this legislative session […]
New Online Court Appearance Toolbox
Looking to solve court appearance issues in your jurisdiction? Find tools that work for you with the Court Appearance Toolbox! This new, online resource from the UNC School of Government […]
News Roundup
A Wisconsin official who posted a photo of his marked ballot on Facebook during the April 2022 election had felony charges against him dropped Monday. Paul Buzzell, a member of a local […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Nov. 21, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on November 21, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
New Law Authorizing Public Release of Juvenile Information in Limited Circumstances
One of the central differences between delinquency matters and criminal matters is that juvenile records are not subject to public inspection. This includes juvenile court records (G.S. 7B-3000(b)); all law […]
“Here Is Your Stuff Back, Man”: When Returning a Driver’s License and Registration Doesn’t Terminate a Stop
Consider a fact pattern that takes place every day, all across the country: a police officer stops a motorist for a traffic infraction, runs the motorist’s license through a computer […]
New Trafficking Fines Coming for Heroin, Fentanyl, and Carfentanil
My colleague Jeff Welty recently wrote about S.L. 2023-123 and changes to our death by drug distribution laws. He mentioned changes to the mandatory drug trafficking fines for certain drugs […]