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 […]
Can I Take a Look at Your Phone?
Inquisitive police officers regularly ask suspects questions like “Can I take a look at your phone?” or “Can I see your phone?” These on-the-street requests may give rise to legal […]
Court of Appeals Rules That Consent to Search Backpack, Given after Repeated Requests, Was Not Voluntary
Last month, the Court of Appeals ruled that police coerced a suspect into agreeing to let them search his backpack. Many of the traditional hallmarks of coercion, such as threatening […]
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Sept. 12, 2023)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 12, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a […]
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2023)
This post summarizes published criminal law and related decisions from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals released in June 2023. Cases that may be of interest to state practitioners are […]
New Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence
Last month, the North Carolina General Assembly passed S.L. 2023-14 (S 20) which largely covers changes to abortion laws. Within this bill is also a newly defined “misdemeanor crime of […]
Artificial Intelligence and the Practice of Criminal Law
You’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot built by the company Open AI. The most recent version of Open AI’s product, GPT-4, “scored in the 88th percentile on […]
Spring 2023 Update on the Constitutionality of Gun Laws
Last fall, I wrote a post about the litigation over the constitutionality of various firearms restrictions in the wake of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 […]