News Roundup
As Charlottesville newspaper The Daily Progress reports, late last week a Virginia jury convicted James Alex Fields Jr. of first-degree murder and several other charges arising from his attack on […]
Not-Quite-Defective Indictments
Ordinarily, a pleading that fails to accurately allege every element of the offense is defective and is treated as a jurisdictional nullity. See, e.g., G.S. 15A-924(a)(5) (“as a prerequisite to […]
News Roundup
This week several pipe bombs were mailed to political figures and political activists. A series of similar manila envelopes containing suspected explosives and bearing the return address of former Democratic […]
News Roundup
In the culmination of a nomination process that divided the nation, Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice on Saturday night. As USA Today reports, the final […]
Security Searches at Courthouses
To enter most courthouses these days, a person must submit to a security search. Often, one must walk through a metal detectors and pass one’s personal items through an x-ray […]
News Roundup
As WRAL reports, former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick pleaded guilty late last week to felony embezzlement charges arising from her years-long practice of diverting funds from the […]
News Roundup
Michigan State University reached a $500 million settlement this week with the hundreds of women that Larry Nassar sexually abused under the guide of medical treatment while working in the […]
State v. Fincher: No Foundation Required for DRE Testimony
The court of appeals held yesterday in State v. Fincher, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ____ (2018), that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it permitted […]
When Probation Ends
Knowing when probation begins is generally pretty easy. Figuring out when it ends can be a little trickier.
State v. McCaster and the Recalcitrant Probationer
Suppose a defendant is convicted of a class I felony and has a prior record level of I. That’s a “C” block on the felony sentencing grid, where only community […]