Articles related to pretrial release

Can court records of juvenile delinquency adjudications be used to determine conditions of pretrial release in criminal cases? This question has come up more frequently since the requirement to consider […]

When a person is arrested for a criminal offense, the judicial official authorizing pretrial release must issue an appropriate order containing a statement of the conditions imposed. G.S. 15A-534(d). This […]

A new Administration of Justice Bulletin on Rebuttable Presumptions Against Pretrial Release is now available. I previously blogged about these types of presumptions here, and this bulletin expands on the […]

I am excited to announce that I have published a bulletin on Iryna’s Law and Pretrial Release. The bill under which it was enacted, Session Law 2025-93 (HB 307), made […]

The last few years have brought about several changes to the laws surrounding pretrial release. Before many of these changes, there was a general rule that a defendant charged with […]

Last week, I posted a short blog discussing the new category of violent offenses as defined by G.S. 15A-531(9). The post includes a chart of qualifying offenses for those who […]

December 1 is approaching, which means that many of the changes enacted by the General Assembly this session will be taking effect soon. Among the pending changes are those enacted by Iryna’s law (H 307), which I covered in greater detail in an earlier blog post. This follow-up post focuses on the new category of “violent offenses.”

Last month, the General Assembly passed Session Law 2025-93 (H 307), also known as Iryna’s Law. The legislation makes a number of changes to proceedings involving pretrial release; adds a new aggravating sentencing factor; alters the way magistrates may be disciplined; and expands the permissible methods of execution, among other things. This post focuses on the changes affecting pretrial release, most of which will take effect on December 1, 2025.

The North Carolina General Assembly has been quite busy this session. This year’s legislative updates span a range of topics within the world of criminal and motor vehicle law. Summaries of those enactments will be published on the School of Government website once the General Assembly adjourns for the session. For now, I’ll use this post to highlight the laws taking effect tomorrow, October 1, 2025.

A few months ago, I blogged about the legislative changes that took effect last year surrounding the processing of defendants who are subject to immigration detainers. The North Carolina General Assembly revisited the topic this legislative session in S.L. 2025-85 (H 318). Effective October 1, 2025, the law modifies some of the provisions enacted by S.L. 2024-55 (H 10) and creates a new pretrial release procedure that requires judicial officials to determine legal residency for defendants charged with certain offenses.