North Carolina Criminal Law

The practice of ordering a civil judgment for costs and fines at the outset of a criminal case has run its course.

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In case you missed it, there is a new method of obtaining relief from criminal monetary obligations. Rule 28 of the North Carolina General Rules of Practice was adopted in […]

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The Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a new form, AOC-CR-415, through which a person can make a motion for relief from costs, fines, and other monetary obligations. The […]

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Today’s post shares a short paper on restitution that I recently prepared for the Conference of District Attorneys. I thought it might also be useful to other audiences.

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Some of you have probably seen the School’s bench card on Criminal Monetary Obligations (it is available here). It may sometimes be helpful as a background reference, but it’s not […]

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Can a criminal sentence include restitution to a victim who has already released the defendant from all damages in a related civil suit?

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In 2010, I wrote a post asking, “Can a defendant be ordered to pay restitution based on offenses that did not result in a conviction?” The court of appeals answered […]

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A district attorney generally has discretion in structuring his or her approach to deferred prosecutions. The DA could have a broad program, allowing deferrals for all defendants who might be […]

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In my last post, I wrote about when the court should and must consider a defendant’s ability to pay a monetary obligation. Today’s post talks about some of the specific […]

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Today’s post considers when a court should—and sometimes must—evaluate a defendant’s ability to pay a monetary obligation in a criminal case.

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