A UNC School of Government Blog
North Carolina’s special sentencing rules for drug trafficking are tough. A recently revised summary of those rules is available here. They include mandatory imprisonment and fines that go well beyond the sentence for a crime of comparable offense class on the regular Structured Sentencing grid. A first-time offender convicted of Class G sale of a … Read more
Earlier this week, United States Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking to American Bar Association, announced a policy change in how drug cases will be charged in federal court. This post summarizes Mr. Holder’s speech, the policy change it announced, and its likely impact in federal court. It then considers whether the new policy will have … Read more
Improper counting of a defendant’s prior out-of-state convictions is a common sentencing error. This post collects the law on the subject, including the many appellate cases decided over the past decade or so. I’ll admit, it’s the Atacama Desert of blog posts: long and dry. But the issue comes up often enough—and can have significant … Read more
Which of the following defendants may be sentenced to “time served” (choose all that apply)? A. A felony defendant with 5 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. B. A felony defendant with 7 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. C. A felony defendant with 9 months of jail credit sentenced to … Read more
Suppose a defendant convicted of a felony has a slam dunk mitigating factor. Let’s say, for example, that he has been honorably discharged from the military, which is a statutory factor under G.S. 15A-1340.16(e). Before the defendant can present evidence of the factor (probably a DD-214) to the court, the judge stops him, saying, “No … Read more
Last week the court of appeals decided State v. Nolen, its first absconding “donut hole” case. Pardon the mixed metaphor, but here is the donut hole in a nutshell: The Justice Reinvestment Act said probationers who “abscond” under G.S. 15A-1343(b)(3a) after December 1, 2011 may have their probation revoked. But the absconding condition in G.S. … Read more
The Justice Reinvestment Act became law in 2011. S.L. 2011-192. Even before its initial effective date it was amended in 2011 by a technical corrections act. S.L. 2011-412. It was amended again by a clarifications act in 2012, making the changes described here. S.L. 2012-188. Two weeks ago it was amended yet again, effective (in … Read more
It’s been over two years since I recorded my first video blog post. With the help of School of Government multimedia developer Jamar Jones, I prepared another one for today. In it, I try to show how Structured Sentencing is not very structured for many defendants—especially when multiple convictions are sentenced together. I hope you’ll … Read more
I read an article this morning from the Washington Post about how some inmates are using the online consumer review site Yelp to rate jails and prisons. It’s an interesting mix of good reviews (“[I]f you’re going to get arrested, do it in Arlington County”) and bad (“This was the worst experience of my life … Read more
I recently completed a draft of a bulletin on probation violations. It is working its way through our internal review process. In the meantime, I thought I would post it on the blog and open it up for wider comment. There have been many changes in this area of the law in the past 5 … Read more