U.S. Supreme Court Curtails Substitute Analyst Testimony
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided Smith v. Arizona, 602 U.S. ___; 2024 WL 3074423 (June 21, 2024) (Kagan, J.). The case settled a lingering question in Sixth Amendment Confrontation […]
Backing Away from Bruen? Supreme Court Upholds Law Barring Restraining Order Subjects from Possessing Guns
On June 21, the Supreme Court decided a highly-anticipated Second Amendment case. In United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. __ (2024), the Court considered a facial challenge to 18 U.S.C. […]
Bruen Comes to North Carolina
My colleague Jeff Welty has covered the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York Rife and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), and subsequent lower court cases […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (April 2024)
This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions of interest from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2024. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit criminal cases can be found […]
News Roundup
A lawsuit has been filed against the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and its secretary, asserting that the state’s lack of assessment and treatment services has resulted […]
Plain Feel, Pill Bottles, and Probable Cause: State v. Jackson
A common point of confusion among law enforcement and the public is about the use of unlabeled pill bottles. Is it legal to possess prescription medicine in a container other […]
Another Look at PJCs
Prayer for judgment continued or a “PJC” is a common disposition in criminal cases, most frequently for traffic law violations or low-level crimes, where entry of final judgment is delayed […]
Criminal Law Faculty Position Now Available
Have you ever thought that it would be interesting to be a member of the School’s faculty? To write, teach, and consult about criminal law and procedure? And to do […]
May An Officer Ask a Business to Execute a Search Warrant on Itself?
Once upon a time, search warrants were simple. An officer would obtain a warrant to search a suspect’s home or some other physical location connected to a crime. The officer […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Dec. 19, 2023, and Jan. 2, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on December 19, 2023, and January 2, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s […]