The Supreme Court on Miranda: Shatzer and Powell
The United States Supreme Court has decided two Miranda cases in the past two days. The prosecution won both cases. Tuesday, the Court decided Florida v. Powell. In Powell, the […]
Personal Characteristics and “Custody” for Miranda Purposes
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently decided In re J.D.B., a close and interesting juvenile case. I mentioned it briefly here when it divided the court of appeals. It has […]
Knowing and Voluntary Miranda Waivers
The Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, recently decided a very interesting Miranda case. Garner v. Mitchell, available here, is a capital case. The defendant stole a woman’s purse, took a […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 3, 2025)
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 […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during August 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during June of 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Jan. 2025)
This post summarizes published criminal law cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during January 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries […]
Children and Consent Searches
Some time ago, I received an email from a researcher asking whether a minor may consent to the search of his or her cell phone. The question made me realize […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 3, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 3, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Oct. 1, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on October 1, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]