A UNC School of Government Blog
It is ACC tournament time, and basketball competition among North Carolina’s universities is fierce. U.S. News has just released its annual law school rankings, meaning that competition among the state’s law schools is also fierce. Duke takes top honors, cracking the coveted top 10. (Well, tied for number 10, anyway.) UNC and Wake Forest are … Read more
In Chapel Hill, the top story is District Attorney Jim Woodall’s decision not to charge former UNC employee Deborah Crowder in connection with the athletic/academic/no-show classes scandal. The Herald Sun has the story here, but the key detail is that the decision not to prosecute was based in part on Crowder’s ongoing cooperation, both in … Read more
The SBI is investigating allegations that nude photographs of middle and high school students have been posted on photo-sharing site Instagram without the students’ consent. The investigation began in Wake County but has now reached eight additional counties as well. WRAL has the story here. I imagine that the images first came into circulation through … Read more
WRAL reports here on the top local story this week: the SBI is “looking into allegations that former Wake County court employees improperly released jail bondsmen from their obligations to pay bond forfeitures.” It sounds as though criminal charges may be forthcoming. Other sources indicate that one or more employees of the clerk’s office have … Read more
I usually listen to sports talk radio on the way to work – normally Mike and Mike – but I mix in a little NPR when the conversation lags. This week, I turned the dial just in time to catch this terrific story about exonerations, which reported that “[a]t least 87 people were set free … Read more
There was a mountain of interesting news this week. In Charlotte, CMPD officer Randall Kerrick was indicted for voluntary manslaughter for shooting Jonathan Ferrell. As the Charlotte Observer reports here, the indictment was issued by the second grand jury to consider the case, after the first returned a no true bill. The defense team sought … Read more
Pop star Justin Bieber was arrested yesterday morning in Miami Beach after allegedly drag racing a rented Lamborghini through a residential neighborhood while intoxicated. His smiling mug shot has been all over the news. Charged with DUI, Bieber faces up to six months in jail, 50 hours of community service, and a fine of $250 … Read more
The biggest national story this week is the just-completed execution of Dennis McGuire by the state of Ohio. Because the state was not able to procure pentobarbital, a drug historically used in executions, it used a novel combination of drugs that resulted in McGuire gasping and convulsing for 10 minutes or more. Whether McGuire was … Read more
The new year is off to an interesting start. Here are some of the week’s top developments: Wake County DA not seeking re-election. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has announced that he will not seek re-election in November. The News and Observer reports that District Court Judge Ned Mangum is “contemplating a possible run … Read more
This will be the last blog post of 2013, and in fact, the last one until January 6, 2014, as we will be on our annual holiday hiatus until then. It may be an interesting holiday season, considering that a district attorney in Pennsylvania has announced the arrest of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for FUI … Read more