Right to a Public Trial
The Sixth Amendment provides that a person accused of a crime “shall enjoy a public trial.” This right is grounded in the belief that judges and prosecutors will carry out […]
Juveniles and the Law of Impaired Driving
What law applies when a juvenile is suspected of impaired driving? If the juvenile is 16- or 17-years-old, the criminal law applies in the same way that it applies to […]
Fourth Circuit Rules that the First Amendment May Protect a Vehicle Occupant’s Right to Livestream a Traffic Stop
Several years ago, two officers working for the Winterville Police Department stopped a car for a traffic violation. Dijon Sharpe was a passenger in the vehicle. Sharpe had some prior […]
News Roundup
Things are going full tilt at the General Assembly. One new bill of interest this week would reduce the per se impairment blood alcohol content from .08 to .05. If […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (Feb. 21, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on February 21, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Possession of Khat
Readers may have heard of the plant commonly known as khat or qat (or Catha edulis, for the botanically inclined). The plant is indigenous to Africa and is popular in […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Jan. 2023)
This post summaries published criminal law decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during January 2023. Cases that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]
The School of Government Has a New Dean
The School of Government was founded 92 years ago as the Institute of Government. To say that the School has had continuity of leadership would be an understatement. The top […]
News Roundup
The legislature is in session and a bill to make the Moravian cookie the official state cookie was introduced this week. According to my admittedly casual research, only a few […]
Court of Appeals Affirms Order Dismissing Media Entities’ Petition for Release of Law Enforcement Recordings in Andrew Brown Case
After Andrew Brown, Jr. was shot and killed in Elizabeth City in April 2021 by law enforcement officers who were attempting to serve arrest and search warrants on him, several […]