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Court of Appeals Holds that CDL Disqualification Bars DWI Prosecution

I’m not buying a lottery ticket this week. The court of appeals’ opinion in State v. McKenzie, published yesterday, casts serious doubt on my wagering skills. And if my wagers are this suspect when I make an educated guess, I don’t want take on the odds in a game of chance. McKenzie holds, over a … Read more

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Civil License Revocations and Double Jeopardy

As most readers of this blog know, many people charged in North Carolina with driving while impaired and other implied consent offenses suffer the immediate consequence of having their driver’s licenses revoked pursuant to G.S. 20-16.5 by the magistrate at their initial appearance. North Carolina enacted its administrative license revocation procedure as part of the … Read more

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Assaults: One Conviction or Two?

Jeff previously blogged about multiple assault convictions based on the same conduct, distinguishing double jeopardy issues from statutory interpretation issues. In this post, I will hone in on the statutory interpretation aspect of the analysis. G.S. 14-32.4(b) provides: “Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any person who … Read more

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State v. Davis: The Supreme Court Weighs in on Punishment under G.S. 20-141.4

I blogged here about the court of appeals’ opinion in State v. Davis, ___ N.C. App. ___ (2010), a case in which the defendant was convicted of several offenses and sentenced to more than 35 years imprisonment for driving while impaired and crashing his truck into another truck, killing two people and seriously injuring a … Read more

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Felony Speeding to Elude and Lesser Included Offenses (with some ACC Rivalry sprinkled on top)

More than a decade ago, the General Assembly enacted G.S. 20-141.5, making it a Class 1 misdemeanor to operate a motor vehicle on street, highway, or public vehicular area while fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer who is in the lawful performance of his public duties. If two or more aggravating factors … Read more

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Double Punishment but No Double Jeopardy

Donna Defendant’s license was revoked on May 1, 2007 upon her conviction of driving after consuming in violation of G.S. 20-13.2. On January 15, 2008, Donna Defendant was charged with impaired driving and driving with a revoked license. Donna Defendant is convicted of both offenses in district court. At the sentencing hearing, the district court … Read more

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State v. Davis and Double Jeopardy v. Statutory Construction

[Update: the state supreme court reviewed this case, reversing in part, as described here.] The court of appeals published its opinion in State v. Davis this week, a case in which it affirmed the defendant’s convictions for felony serious injury by vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, two counts of felony death … Read more

Multiple Assault Convictions Based on the Same Conduct

North Carolina has a number of different assault crimes, like simple assault, assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon, and so on.  We also have a confusing body of case law regarding the propriety of multiple assault convictions based on a single course of conduct.  For example, can a defendant who assaults his … Read more