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
Author’s Note: The opinion discussed below was reversed by the North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Calderon, No. 238A23 (N.C. Dec. 12, 2025) (discussed here). A recent court of […]
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 […]
Case Summary — State v. Richardson, No. 272A14 (N.C. Sept. 1, 2023).
Presented with an appalling set of facts, the North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously upheld the defendant’s convictions for murder, kidnapping, sex offense, and felony child abuse. The majority affirmed a […]
Anticipatory Search Warrants: Why Must There Be Probable Cause That the Triggering Condition Will Happen?
In preparation for some upcoming teaching, I’ve been brushing up on anticipatory search warrants. Such warrants authorize a search, but only once a “triggering condition” takes place. The most common […]
News Roundup
A convicted murderer remains on the lam in the suburbs of Philadelphia following his escape from jail last week. The AP reports that the man was serving a life sentence […]