news

I’ve been traveling a fair bit lately, which made me especially receptive to this story about things the TSA has found on air passengers or in their luggage this year. To sum up: “Things like guns and bombs aren’t enough anymore, the TSA finds grenade launchers, venomous snakes, gassed up chainsaws and more.” Also a … Read more

Here in Chapel Hill, the big news of the week is that the town’s ban on cell phone use while driving was struck down by a superior court judge. The judge ruled that the ordinance is preempted by state law, which comprehensively regulates the use of mobile devices while driving. The News and Observer has … Read more

I feel like we’re living in East Texas, where summer consists of a long, unbroken string of 100 degree days with high humidity. Lucky for us, there are lots of things we can do indoors to pass the time, like perusing the new electronic version of North Carolina Crimes. It’s a web-based, searchable product, available … Read more

Some of you aren’t getting email notifications of new posts. Sorry about that. Our IT folks are working to resolve the glitch, but it may take a little time. I’ll keep you informed. Meanwhile, the world keeps turning. Among the interesting news this week: In a development that is a surprise to exactly no one, … Read more

Over the past several days, the national news has been dominated by the issuance of an investigative report about the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal, a topic I previously addressed here. The report makes clear that football coach Joe Paterno, university president Graham Spanier, and other university leaders were aware of the problem and … Read more

Apparently the Supreme Court issued some sort of decision this week about broccoli, or health insurance, or something. But it wasn’t all mandates and Medicare: there were several significant criminal law developments in the news this week as well: Governor Perdue vetoed the bill that would have amended, or perhaps effectively repealed, the Racial Justice … Read more

The biggest news locally this week was the General Assembly’s passage of S 416, which will dramatically alter, if not effectively repeal, the Racial Justice Act. I summarized the bill briefly last week and may have more to say about it if and when it becomes law. For now, it’s on the Governor’s desk, though … Read more

There were so many significant and interesting stories this week, it’s hard to decide where to begin. But I’ve settled on this USA Today story about federal inmates serving sentences for possession of a firearm by a felon. The problem? The inmates aren’t really felons, at least not under current federal law. Here’s the short … Read more

The General Assembly’s in session, and Republican legislators are moving to amend the Racial Justice Act. An AP article on point states that the proposal would “strip away much of the act,” but doesn’t delve into specifics. As far as I can tell, the current version of the bill under discussion is this one. Among … Read more

Yesterday, I noted that the John Edwards jury had been deliberating for nine days. Apparently, nine days was long enough. As the News and Observer notes here, the jurors reported “that they were hopelessly divided on five of the six charges . . . but in unanimous agreement that [Edwards] was not guilty on one … Read more