Quick Post-Bruen Update on the Constitutionality of Gun Laws
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. __, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022), holding that New York could not […]
News Roundup
The election this week had some notable results. Republicans swept the races for appellate judgeships, shifting the state supreme court from majority Democrat to majority Republican. In Columbus County, Jody […]
State v. Diaz-Tomas Recognizes Broad Prosecutorial Discretion Following Dismissals With Leave
The North Carolina Supreme Court held last week in State v. Diaz-Tomas, ___ N.C. ___, 2022-NCSC-115 (November 4, 2022), that neither a criminal defendant nor the court has the right […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (Nov. 4, 2022)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on November 4, 2022. This summary will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Must a Vehicle Be Located in a PVA to Be Searched Without a Warrant?
In State v. Parker, __ N.C. App. __, __ S.E.2d __, 2022 WL 4850255 (Oct. 4, 2022), the Court of Appeals considered the warrantless search of a vehicle that took […]
News Roundup
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that a Florida jury divided on the proper sentence for Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, with the result that he was to receive a sentence […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (Nov. 1, 2022)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on November 1, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Fall 2022 Cannabis Update
It has not been long since my last cannabis update, but there are some interesting new developments to report, most notably on drug identification and marijuana. Read on for the […]
The Civilianization of Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies are having difficulty recruiting and retaining sworn officers. The situation is “a crisis for law enforcement,” according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This local […]
News Roundup
If you’ve been to Walmart lately, you know that there are hardly any cashiers anymore. The retail giant seems intent on getting us all to use its self-checkout kiosks where […]