News Roundup
As the Associated Press reports, countries around the world are calling for an investigation of whether Russia has committed war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine. In a joint press […]
Prosecuting Defendants in Bankruptcy
This post summarizes an unusual point of law that recently caught me by surprise, and it’s one which I don’t believe we’ve ever directly covered on the criminal law blog […]
News Roundup
As Reuters reports, this week Purdue Pharma and its owners the Sackler family agreed to pay $6 billion to resolve litigation brought by a group of state attorneys general related […]
Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (March 1, 2022)
This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 1, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and […]
New Resource on Injury for Assault and Other Offenses
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]