2025 Changes to North Carolina Gun Laws
Jeff Welty
December is an exciting time of year. Some people are focused on the upcoming holidays, others on the chance of snow flurries. Here at the School of Government, we’re paying […]
Mental Health Defenses—Diminished Capacity and Voluntary Intoxication: What Can the Expert Say?
Daniel Spiegel
In mounting a diminished capacity or voluntary intoxication defense in a first-degree murder case, the defense attempts to “negate” the element of specific intent, premeditation, or deliberation. To negate in […]
An Update on North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Harm Reduction Law
Phil Dixon
In an earlier blog post, I summarized North Carolina’s harm reduction immunity laws, including our safe syringe exchange law, G.S. 90-113.27, our Good Samaritan law, G.S. 90-96.2, and others. North […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 3, 2025)
Joseph L. Hyde
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 3, 2025. Trial court did not err by admitting expert testimony on historical […]
NEWS ROUNDUP
Joseph L. Hyde
Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted in 2022 for defrauding investors and is now serving time in federal prison, claimed this week that a key piece of evidence against her was […]
State v. Chemuti and the Release of Law Enforcement Agency Recordings to District Court Defendants
Shea Denning
The North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Chemuti, __ N.C. __, 920 S.E.2d 810 (2025), clarified the interplay between the statutory provisions in G.S. 132-1.4A governing release of certain […]
DART Center Tour, Program Overview, and Practical Takeaways
Belal Elrahal
In October, we administered a class on DWI substantive law and procedure for District Court Judges and Magistrates. As part of that program, I took a group of judges to […]
Resources, Resources, Resources!
Brittany Bromell
Last week, I posted a short blog discussing the new category of violent offenses as defined by G.S. 15A-531(9). The post includes a chart of qualifying offenses for those who […]
The End of the Concurrent Sentence Default
Jamie Markham
For many years, it has been the rule in North Carolina that when multiple sentences of imprisonment are imposed, they run concurrently by default. That has been required by statute since 1977. G.S. 15A-1354. And that statute carried forward prior law that “sentences are to run concurrently unless otherwise specified.” Id. Official Commentary. Effective today, that default rule is removed.
“Violent Offenses” under G.S. 15A-531(9)
Brittany Bromell
December 1 is approaching, which means that many of the changes enacted by the General Assembly this session will be taking effect soon. Among the pending changes are those enacted by Iryna’s law (H 307), which I covered in greater detail in an earlier blog post. This follow-up post focuses on the new category of “violent offenses.”