A UNC School of Government Blog
Down with the law reviews, up with the blogs. Or, so says Justice Kennedy in this Wall Street Journal story. “Professors are back in the act with blogs,” he proclaims, stating that his clerks regularly survey the blogosphere to see how academics view the cases that are before the Court. I feel sure that they … Read more
No, the federal government shutdown hasn’t reached the School of Government — I’m just a little slow with my post today due to some teaching and other obligations. Easily the most unusual story of the week was this one from San Diego, California: a defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to 53 years in … Read more
This week, the State Auditor released an audit of the Administrative Office of the Courts. It’s available here. One finding was that the AOC “does not make detailed . . . DWI case data readily available to the public . . . although AOC [was] asked to do so by . . . the legislature … Read more
There was a ton of interesting news this week, starting in Union County, where the “district attorney has dismissed cases against 39 people because Monroe police officers failed to provide case files and related work needed for prosecution,” according to this Charlotte Observer article. The article notes that last year, a judge fined the police … Read more
There’s a pretty strong argument that the state court system is underfunded. And there’s a pretty strong argument that the federal court system is underfunded. The Judicial Conference of the United States makes the latter pitch in this letter to President Obama, noting that budget cuts have impacted “all aspects of court operations,” including reducing … Read more
Eleanor Aker, the print shop operator at the court of appeals, has retired. Ms. Aker is 86 and worked for the state for nearly 40 years. Chief Justice Parker presented her with the Old North State award upon her retirement. Ms. Aker told WRAL: “I love to work. . . . I’ve enjoyed every day … Read more
Durham County Superior Court Judge Elaine Bushfan, hearing cases in Alamance County, reversed her own judgments in five cases this week, saying that the Alamance County District Attorney’s office was too “harsh,” and that she would no longer hear criminal cases in Alamance County. Three of the five cases were habitual felon prosecutions. District Attorney … Read more
The DWI blood test backlog at the state crime lab has started to receive media attention. TheWinston-Salem Journal recently ran this editorial, arguing that the situation is “unacceptable” and reflects a “management failure by the state.” The piece notes that the lab has trouble retaining analysts, who often receive more lucrative offers in the private … Read more
The top story of the week may be that the SBI “and its insurers have agreed to pay $12.475 million to two innocent men who spent a total of 31 years behind bars,” as reported in this News and Observer story. The men in question are Floyd Brown and Greg Taylor. The latter was exonerated … Read more
A truly incredible story has culminated over the past few days. In 1998, Shon Hopwood was sentenced to 147 months in federal prison for bank robbery. He became a jailhouse lawyer, and in 2002, he filed his first petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. Former Solicitor General Seth Waxman described it in … Read more