News Roundup
As one of his first acts as in office, President Trump issued sweeping pardons and commutations for the people convicted of crimes stemming from their involvement in the January 6, […]
Criminal Series of the Clerks’ Manual Now Available
I am pleased to announce that the updated chapters in the Criminal Series of the Clerks’ Manual are now available.
Violation of Conditions Before Release
I recently taught a session at the magistrates’ conference about arrestable conditions of pretrial release. The session sparked a lot of discussion about the law surrounding pretrial conditions for in-custody […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 3, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 3, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Change to the Law of Juvenile Jurisdiction and Juvenile Transfer to Superior Court
Session Law 2024-17 enacts changes to the law regarding the scope of original juvenile jurisdiction beginning with offenses committed on or after December 1, 2024. Law changes regarding the existing […]
Changes Coming to Delinquency Procedure: Transfer and Mental Health Evaluations
Session Law 2023-114 includes many provisions that change the law governing delinquency cases. This is the first in a three-part series of blogs detailing those changes. It covers the changes […]
More on the New Pretrial Integrity Act
Last month, my colleague Jeanette Pitts blogged about the new Pretrial Integrity Act enacted under S.L. 2023-75 (H 813). Since the bill was passed, I have gotten a few questions […]
North Carolina’s new Pretrial Integrity Act
As a general rule, most defendants are entitled to have conditions of pretrial release set without unnecessary delay, and this typically happens at the initial appearance before a magistrate. G.S. […]
Procedure in Juvenile Homicide Cases
How does a case proceed when a juvenile is charged with a homicide offense? In classic lawyer fashion, the answer is that it depends. In almost all instances, the case […]
New Report Shows Positive Results in Forsyth County Bail Project
In January 2020, stakeholders in North Carolina’s Twenty-First Judicial District (Forsyth County) implemented a pretrial reform initiative designed to reduce unnecessary detentions of individuals charged with the lowest-level offenses. Specific […]