I am excited to announce the release of a new guide on Defining “Injury” for North Carolina Assault and Other Offenses.
News Roundup
As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted this week by a federal jury of hate crimes related to their murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia two years ago. All three men were convicted of state murder charges in December of last year. Outside the courthouse, Arbery’s family celebrated the verdict and thanked supporters for standing by them in what they called a “very long, stressful fight” for justice. Keep reading for more news.
Possession of Fentanyl (2022 Update)
In an earlier post, I wrote that simple possession of fentanyl was a misdemeanor Schedule II offense under then-current law. No more. Effective Dec. 1, 2021, fentanyl possession in any amount is treated as a felony. I have been receiving calls about the change and thought a brief post would be useful. Read on for the details.
Court of Appeals Finds No Constitutional Violations Related to Pre-Raise the Age Prosecution in Criminal Court
Were the constitutional rights of defendants who were prosecuted as adults in criminal court for offenses that they committed at ages 16 or 17, and prior to December 1, 2019, violated because the jurisdictional changes under raise the age were not retroactive? The North Carolina Court of Appeals does not think so. The decision in State v. Garrett, 2021-NCCOA-591, answers this question.
What Does the Duty to Intervene Really Mean?
Law enforcement officers have a duty to intervene when they have an opportunity to prevent another officer from using unlawful force. That duty comes from multiple sources, including federal constitutional law, a new state statute, and, in some cases, agency policy. But what does the duty require in practice? Is verbal intervention enough, or must the officer attempt to intercede physically? What if the officer has competing obligations, such as keeping control of an unruly scene? And what should an officer do if he or she isn’t sure whether the amount of force another officer is using is appropriate? This post will address how officers and agencies might operationalize the duty to intervene.
News Roundup
The Associated press reports that the families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have settled a lawsuit against Remington Arms for $73 million. The suit alleged that Remington marketed the AR-15 style assault rifle used in the shooting in a dangerous manner by promoting its destructive capability and associating it with violence. Twenty-six people were killed at Sandy Hook in 2012 by a lone gunman; twenty of the victims were young children.
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Feb. 15, 2022)
This post summarizes criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals published on February 15, 2022. As always, these summaries will be added to the School’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present.
Case Summaries: North Carolina Supreme Court (Feb. 11, 2022)
This post summarized published criminal and related decisions from the North Carolina Supreme Court released on February 11, 2022. These summaries will be added to the Criminal Case Compendium.
News Roundup
As WCYB reports, two men who escaped from the Sullivan County Jail in Tennessee died after a motor vehicle chase across North Carolina ended in a crash in Brunswick County earlier this week. Escapees Tobias Carr and Timothy Sarver allegedly were involved in a robbery at a convenience store in Onslow County and then were chased across several North Carolina jurisdictions before their vehicle was disabled and crashed. Precise details of the incident were unavailable at the time of writing. Keep reading for more news.