Suing the Police over Tight Handcuffs
On Friday, the Supreme Court of North Carolina decided a civil case in which an arrestee alleged that he was handcuffed too tightly by the arresting officer. The court allowed […]
News Roundup
Many Americans have been paying close attention to the proceedings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Among the interested observers […]
Enforcing Ignition Interlock Requirements
I wrote last week about changes to North Carolina’s ignition interlock statutes that were effective June 1, 2022. As I noted in that post, one of those changes was to […]
The Court Appearance Project
Diverse teams of justice system stakeholders in New Hanover, Orange, and Robeson counties participated in the North Carolina Court Appearance Project, seeking to improve local court appearance rates and develop […]
Book Review: Sentence, by Daniel Genis
My local public library recently acquired a copy of Sentence: Ten Years and a Thousand Books in Prison by Daniel Genis. It’s a memoir of the author’s ten years in […]
News Roundup
This week, the North Carolina Senate passed a bill that would allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. According to the legislative findings at the beginning of the bill, […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (June 7, 2022)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on June 7, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free […]
Ignition Interlock Changes Effective June 1
Last year, the General Assembly enacted significant changes to the state’s ignition interlock laws. See S.L. 2021-182. Some of those changes became effective June 1 and are reflected in revised […]
Getting Relief from Criminal Monetary Obligations: New Webinar and FAQ on Rule 28 of the General Rules of Practice
In case you missed it, there is a new method of obtaining relief from criminal monetary obligations. Rule 28 of the North Carolina General Rules of Practice was adopted in […]
Does an NC Limited Driving Privilege Authorize Driving in Another State?
Conviction of a host of criminal offenses (many, but not all involving vehicles) may lead to the revocation of a person’s driver’s license by the North Carolina Division of Motor […]