GiveUNC: A Note from Dana Simpson, Chair of the UNC School of Government Foundation Board
Today is GiveUNC, the University’s annual day of giving. As Dean Mike Smith is set to step down as Dean at the end of this year, today we are celebrating […]
Greenville’s Red Light Camera Program Ruled Unconstitutional
Author’s Note: The opinion discussed below was reversed in relevant part by Fearrington v. City of Greenville, ___ N.C. ___, 900 S.E.2d 851 (2024). Two men cited in separate instances […]
News Roundup
This week the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court. Jackson currently sits […]
North Carolina’s Decriminalization of Most Local Ordinance Violations
Senate Bill 300 was an omnibus criminal justice reform bill passed last year. One of its provisions presumptively decriminalizes most violations of local ordinances. In this post, I’ll address some […]
Structuring Individualized Delinquency Dispositions
The Juvenile Code requires the court to select the most appropriate disposition for the delinquent juvenile. G.S. 7B-2501(c). Under this statute, the disposition must be designed to protect the public […]
North Carolina Magistrates Authorized (Again) to Conduct First Appearance in Limited Circumstances
The North Carolina General Assembly revisited the authority of magistrates to conduct first appearances in Session Law 2022-6 (H243). The General Assembly ratified the law on 3/11/2022, and the Governor […]
News Roundup
Late last week Governor Roy Cooper’s office announced that he had commuted the sentences of three people who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms as teenagers and had served decades […]
Case Summaries – North Carolina Court of Appeals (March 15, 2022)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 15, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free […]
Case Summaries – Supreme Court of North Carolina (March 11, 2022)
This post summarizes criminal decisions released by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on March 11, 2022.
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Feb. 2022)
This post summarized published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during February 2022. Decisions that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized […]