Summer 2025 Motor Vehicle Law Changes
The legislature enacted a raft of changes this summer to motor vehicle and criminal law. This post examines three session laws that enhanced criminal penalties and revised regulations for motor […]
Pretrial Custody Release: Notes from Other Jurisdictions
When a person is arrested, a law enforcement officer must take that person before a judicial official without unnecessary delay. Subject to certain statutory exceptions, defendants charged with most noncapital […]
Purses, Fanny Packs, Backpacks, and Duffel Bags: The Impact of Arizona v. Gant on Searches of Hand Luggage Incident to Arrest
Law enforcement officers have long been authorized to search a person incident to the person’s arrest. But the precise scope of that authority has shifted over time. The most recent […]
News Roundup
If you thought it was only corner-cutting lawyers and tech-savvy college students that were relying on artificial intelligence to do their work for them, this week may force you to […]
New Crime of Exposing a Child to Controlled Substances and Other 2025 Drug Law Changes
As regular readers know, the General Assembly passed a slew of statutes affecting our criminal law this summer, including controlled substances law. In S.L. 2025-70 (S.B. 429), the legislature created […]
Filling in the Gaps: Changes on the Horizon for Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence
Several times a year, I teach different groups about criminal domestic violence laws in North Carolina. Last year, I highlighted the misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV) under G.S. 14-32.5 […]
New Free Webinar Friday on Recovery Courts and the Role of Defense Counsel
In case you missed it, I wanted to remind folks that the Public Defense Education team here, with support from the Office of Indigent Defense Services, is proud to offer […]
Did the General Assembly Just Remove the “Nighttime” Element of Burglary?
A few weeks ago, the General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed into law, S.L. 2025-71. The bill makes quite a few changes to the criminal law. It creates new […]
News Roundup
The Alamo announced last week that it’s got Pee-wee’s stolen red bicycle, as foretold in the 1985 film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” But the bike is not in the basement. The […]
A New Way to Authenticate Video? State v. Windseth and the Business Records Exception
Special thanks to Sloan Godbey, Summer Law Fellow at UNC SOG, for their significant contributions to this post. In March of last year, I did a thorough review of North […]