Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (Dec. 16, 2022)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on December 16, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
May a Judge Rule on a Motion to Suppress Evidence Seized Under a Search Warrant That He or She Issued?
Suppose a superior court judge issues a search warrant authorizing the search of a suspect’s house for drugs. Officers execute the warrant, find drugs, seize them, and charge the suspect […]
News Roundup
Happy new year! It’s time for the first news roundup of 2023, but I’ll start with one item that dates back to 2022. The Associated Press reports here that “Adnan […]
New Paper on No-Knock Warrants
I recently finished a paper on the law and practice of no-knock warrants in North Carolina. I went with the creative title, The Law and Practice of No-Knock Search Warrants in […]
Failure to Appear at Civil No-Contact Hearing Was a Prior Opportunity for Cross-Examination and Constituted an Implied Waiver of Confrontation Rights at Subsequent Criminal Trial
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment generally guarantees a criminal defendant the right to confront and cross-examine his accusers in person. If a witness was available for an earlier […]
News Roundup
The biggest national (and international) criminal law story this week involves the December 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103. The flight was destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, […]
2022 Criminal Legislative Summaries
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: legislative summaries are now available. Though the North Carolina General Assembly has not yet adjourned, it does not expect to have votes […]
State v. Eagle: Blue Lights and Impeded Egress Equal a Fourth Amendment Seizure
The North Carolina Court of Appeals in State v. Eagle, 2022-NCCOA-680, ___ N.C. App. ___, 879 S.E.2d 377 (2022), considered whether the driver of a car that had already stopped […]
Incapacity to Proceed (G.S. Chapter 15A) and Incompetency (G.S. Chapter 35A): Apples and Oranges?
Incapacity to proceed under North Carolina General Statutes (G.S.) Chapter 15A and incompetency proceedings under G.S. Chapter 35A involve, at least in part, a court inquiry into someone’s cognitive abilities. […]
News Roundup
Tens of thousands of residences and businesses in Moore County began the week without electricity after two electrical substations in the county were damaged by gunfire on Saturday evening. Federal, […]