news

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

According to this report, when United States Supreme Court clerks are looking for commentary about cutting-edge legal issues — like when they’re considering petitions for certiorari — they don’t look at law reviews anymore. They read blogs. I have a new spring in my step today! In other news: 1. The News and Observer reports … Read more

There wasn’t enough news last week to justify a news roundup, but there sure was this week: 1. The SBI lab saga continues. The president of the Conference of District Attorneys has called for a moratorium on executions until the issues with the lab are resolved, as discussed here. The Conference is also asking for … Read more

The biggest criminal law story this week has to be the ongoing controversy over the SBI. Two independent reviewers examined the work of the Forensic Biology Section of the SBI lab — the section responsible for blood testing — and found 230 cases in which problems existed. In some cases, for example, “[l]aboratory test results … Read more