A UNC School of Government Blog
According to the News and Observer, plea negotiations regarding former Senator John Edwards have not resulted in an agreement, and Edwards “was indicted today [editor’s note: literally, an hour or so ago] on charges of conspiracy and false statements and campaign law violations.” The paper previously ran a detailed analysis of some of the legal … Read more
The News and Observer reports that the government may seek an indictment against former Senator John Edwards as soon as next week. The case is expected to center around money funneled to Edwards’ mistress by two Edwards supporters, with the government contending that the money amounted to illegal campaign contributions and Edwards claiming that they … Read more
The big news nationally this week was the New York arrest and indictment of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges that he sexually assaulted a maid at a Manhattan hotel. Prior to his arrest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and was widely expected to be the next president of France. The New … Read more
The weather forecast calls for a rainy weekend: a good time to sit around, listening to some music. Preferably Bob Dylan, since he is apparently the musician most often cited in legal opinions, more than the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen combined. In other news: 1. The Innocence Inquiry Commission is looking into an Asheville murder … Read more
At least here in the Triangle, the headlines today are all about the Wake County conviction of Bradley Cooper for killing his wife, Nancy. I haven’t followed the trial closely, but I will follow the appeal with interest, because the defense has made clear that the trial judge’s exclusion of the defendant’s proposed expert witnesses … Read more
1. The General Assembly has been working on the budget lately. The House is proposing significant budget cuts to the court system, including reductions in the number of victim/witness legal assistants, reductions to indigent defense, and reductions to the Administrative Office of the Courts, including the elimination of trial court administrators. That last bit is … Read more
Tomorrow’s a UNC holiday, so I’m rounding up the week’s news a day early. 1. Professor Matthew Robinson of Appalachian State University released a new death penalty study this week, and held a press conference in Raleigh to announce it. According to this Winston-Salem Journal article, Professor Robinson “analyzed data from more than 20 studies … Read more
It’s been almost two weeks, so there’s been more news than I can reasonably cram into a news roundup. But I’ll try! 1. The General Assembly’s in session. They’re working on the budget. The News and Observer reports here that “[t]he state budget proposed by House Republicans Tuesday would slash budgets for courts, public safety … Read more
The usual Friday news roundup was displaced last week by an extremely important post. But the news itself just kept coming, including the following: 1. The General Assembly passed the Forensic Sciences Act, a bill that will reform the workings of the SBI crime lab. A News and Observer story about the bill is here, … Read more
Duke took it on the chin last night, losing to a confident, athletic Arizona team. That’s the basketball roundup. Now for the criminal law roundup: 1. The Conference of District Attorneys has completed a review of the SBI lab cases identified as problematic in the Swecker report. The Conference’s press release states that the review … Read more