April 15, 2015
How many charges can be placed on a single charging document, such as a citation, an arrest warrant, or an indictment? Old hands use the rule of thumb, no more than two charges per citation, no more than three charges in any other pleading. But where does that rule come from? And is it even correct?
Read post "How Many Charges Can One Charging Document Contain?"July 30, 2013
S 182 is on the Governor’s desk. It is entitled in part “An Act to Eliminate Appeals for Infractions.” The bill also does some other things, but the focus of […]
Read post "No More Appeals for Infractions?"July 23, 2013
The legislature has agreed on a budget, and it contains some provisions that will impact misdemeanor sentencing and the appointment of counsel — potentially in tens of thousands of cases […]
Read post "Misdemeanor Reclassification, the Right to Counsel, and the Budget"October 31, 2012
Court costs support many different programs and purposes. The principal statute concerning court costs in criminal cases is G.S. 7A-304. (Under G.S. 15A-1118, these costs also apply to infraction cases.) […]
Read post "Court Costs and Traffic Citations"September 19, 2011
In 1985, the General Assembly reclassified certain minor traffic violations as a new type of non-criminal violation, termed an infraction. S.L. 1985-764. Though the legislation provided that infractions were to […]
Read post "The Link Between License Revocations and Failures to Appear"December 18, 2009
The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that cell phones generally cannot be searched without a warrant incident to arrest. That court’s decision is here. The law in North Carolina appears […]
Read post "Searching Cell Phones for Evidence of Texting While Driving"