Changes to the Death by Distribution Law
The opioid crisis seems to be getting worse every year. NCDHHS reports that in 2021, over 4,000 North Carolinians died from opioid overdoses, up 22% from the prior year. Most […]
2023 Appropriations Act Enacts Significant Court-Related Changes
Several provisions of the 2023 Appropriations Act (H 259) ratified by the General Assembly last week (which is expected to become law on October 3 without the Governor’s signature) affect […]
Changes Coming to Delinquency Procedure: Transfer and Mental Health Evaluations
Session Law 2023-114 includes many provisions that change the law governing delinquency cases. This is the first in a three-part series of blogs detailing those changes. It covers the changes […]
News Roundup
On Monday, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail. A provision of the state’s criminal justice reform law was supposed to eliminate the use of cash bail across […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 19, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 19, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2023)
This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during August 2023. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 12, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 12, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
News Roundup
A convicted murderer who escaped from prison in Pennsylvania and remained on the loose for two weeks was captured this week. According to the AP, “a plane fitted with a […]
State v. Calderon Refines Analysis of When Acts Support Multiple Counts of Indecent Liberties
A recent court of appeals case, State v. Calderon, ___ N.C. App. ___ (2023), sets forth a new test for determining whether multiple acts of touching a child during a […]
More on the New Pretrial Integrity Act
Last month, my colleague Jeanette Pitts blogged about the new Pretrial Integrity Act enacted under S.L. 2023-75 (H 813). Since the bill was passed, I have gotten a few questions […]