…Burkes positively identified the body as that of [the victim].” Thus, it appears that Butts did not testify to an independent opinion on either point, but rather simply recounted opinions…
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on November 19, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a…
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on July 18, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a…
…there has been no change in this statute since 1969. Any changes in the law defining burglary since 1969 have come from appellate court opinions. Citations for some time periods…
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on June 18, 2025. Previously, summaries were added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, but due…
My colleagues and I usually spend the waning weeks of May slogging through months of appellate opinions, determining which cases merit discussion at upcoming summer conferences. This year, of course,…
A couple of recent court of appeals opinions emphasize a bright-line rule in cases involving traffic stops. An officer who observes a driver commit a traffic violation may stop the…
…those opinions, suffice it to say that the existence and scope of any constitutional right is unsettled. Waganfeald v. Gusman, 674 F.3d 475 (5th Cir. 2012) (noting the lack of…
The first two posts in this series (here and here) discussed opinions from state supreme courts in Arizona and Minnesota considering, post-McNeely v. Missouri, 133 S.Ct. 1552 (2013), whether a…
…is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Anyone have any relevant authorities to share on either issue, beyond the ones discussed above? Any opinions about the reasonableness of such a search?…
