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 […]
So Your Indictment May Be Flawed: What Now?
A non-lawyer might be forgiven for being somewhat confused by the rules governing indictments. The basics are summarized easily enough: a trial court’s jurisdiction depends on a facially valid indictment; […]
The Effect of Legal Hemp on Drug Dog Sniffs (Part II)
Last week, in Part I of this series, I discussed whether having a drug dog sniff a vehicle is a search if the drug dog might alert upon smelling hemp, […]
News Roundup
Attorney General Josh Stein now appears to be highly unlikely to be charged criminally over a campaign ad he ran in the last election cycle. The ad charged that Stein’s […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (Feb. 7, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinion from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on February 7, 2023. This summary will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
N.C. Supreme Court Weighs in, Again, on Forfeiture of Counsel
In December, the North Carolina Supreme Court decided State v. Atwell, 2022-NCSC-135, ___ N.C. ___ (2022)—its third time weighing in on the issue of forfeiture of counsel. The defendant had […]