A UNC School of Government Blog
The court of appeals issued a batch of opinions this week, at least two of which are absolutely fascinating and will be featured on this blog next week. But those opinions were hardly the only big news this week: 1. Adam Liptak, in the New York Times, has an article arguing that the Supreme Court … Read more
As always, the past week has seen a tremendous amount of interesting criminal law news. Nationally, the story that has drawn the most attention is the conclusion of the Stephen Hayes murder trial in Connecticut. Apparently, two men invaded the home of a doctor and his family; beat the doctor severely; sexually assaulted his wife … Read more
The biggest news of the past week was, of course, the election. Results for judicial and district attorney races are available here from the State Board of elections. (You have to scroll through some other races to get to them.) The balance of the appellate courts doesn’t look like it’s going to change dramatically, but … Read more
In a previous news roundup, I posted an item about how to write like Chief Justice Roberts. But sometimes a negative example can be as useful as a positive one. In that connection, check out this petition for rehearing filed in the Ninth Circuit. Referring to the panel as a bunch of “slime ball, piece … Read more
It was an absolutely fascinating news week. Among the noteworthy stories: 1. In Graham v. Florida, discussed here, the United States Supreme Court held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for a non-homicide offense. Several recent cases ask whether Graham marks the outer limit of the … Read more
My favorite story this week is this report about a proposed ordinance in East Laurinburg. The ordinance “would charge people with indecent exposure if the top of their pants or skirt hangs 3 inches or more below the waistline.” Folks on both sides seems to have put some thought into one-liners about the ordinance, with the … Read more
I’ve been at the beach the past couple of days, teaching at conferences. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.) One of the talks I gave was about GPS tracking, so this story about a man who discovered a tracking device on his car and the FBI’s subsequent efforts to retrieve the … Read more
Locally, the top story of the week is once again the situation at the SBI lab, which has outsourced some of its DNA analysis to a private lab, and which is without an interim director after retired Judge Gerald Arnold decided not to undertake that task despite previous indications that he would do so. But … Read more
To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, it’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the criminal law world every week just happens to fit into a single blog post. This week saw the following: 1. Demario Atwater received a life sentence in federal court yesterday in connection with the killing of UNC student body president … Read more
Well, today is Constitution Day. According to 36 U.S.C. § 106, “[t]he civil and educational authorities of States, counties, cities, and towns are urged to make plans for the proper observance of Constitution Day . . . and for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens.” The law school here … Read more