State v. Rouse and Circumstantial Evidence of Driving
To prove impaired driving, the State must establish that the defendant drove a vehicle while impaired. A person drives when he or she is “actual physical control of a vehicle […]
New Podcast: The N.C. Criminal Debrief
I’m pleased to announce that a new project, the North Carolina Criminal Debrief Podcast, is up and running. As you might guess, the podcast focuses on criminal law issues affecting […]
Determining Eligibility for Return of Guns
Lately I have received a number of questions relating to whether it is appropriate to return guns following a temporary firearms disqualification. The issue seems to arise most commonly when […]
Does the First Amendment Protect a Right to Verbally Abuse the Police?
Editor’s note: This post contains vulgar language that isn’t suitable for children and quite possibly many adults. If you’re an email subscriber, your spam filter probably won’t like it, either. […]
News Roundup
Matthew Fishman, a sergeant in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, was shot and killed this week while attempting to serve involuntary commitment papers. He leaves behind a wife and two […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (August 2, 2022)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on August 2, 2022. This summary will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Additions and Amendments to Organized Retail Theft Laws
The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed S.L. 2022-30 (S 766) which increases the penalties for organized retail theft, provides additional penalties for damage to property or assault of a person […]
What I Learned from Reviewing 279 Search Warrants
Over the past several months, I’ve been dropping by clerks’ offices to look at search warrants. I’ve made it to six offices, including offices in eastern, central, and western North […]
2021 Statistical Report for Driving While Impaired Convictions Now Available
Last week, Jamie blogged about the 2021 Structured Sentencing Statistical Report from the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. As Jamie noted, that report contains detailed information related to […]
New Edition of Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina Now Available
The indispensable search and seizure legal reference is back and better than ever! That’s right, the sixth edition of Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina is now available for […]