Spring 2024 Cannabis Update (Part II)
In Part I of my Spring 2024 cannabis update, I discussed the search and seizure issues arising in North Carolina courts around cannabis. Part II explores drug identification evidence issues surrounding...
View ArticleDoes Waiver by Conduct Remain a Third Way to Lose the Right to Representation?
The North Carolina Court of Appeals first recognized the concept of waiver by conduct in State v. Blakeney, 245 N.C. App. 452 (2010). There, the Court set forth three ways in which a criminal defendant...
View ArticleNews Roundup
Nationally, the biggest criminal law story this week was the sentencing of James and Jennifer Crumbley. They’re the parents of Ethan Crumbley, who was a student at Oxford High School in Michigan in...
View ArticleStatutory Rights to Appeal Orders in Delinquency Matters: What, When, Who,...
The right to appeal an order in a delinquency matter is established in G.S. 7B-2602 (Right to appeal) and G.S. 7B-2603 (Right to appeal transfer decision). These statutes do not identify every order...
View ArticlePlain Feel, Pill Bottles, and Probable Cause: State v. Jackson
A common point of confusion among law enforcement and the public is about the use of unlabeled pill bottles. Is it legal to possess prescription medicine in a container other than the original bottle...
View ArticleCase Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (March 2024)
This post summarizes a published criminal law released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during March 2024. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous...
View ArticleCase Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (April 16, 2024)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 16, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and...
View ArticleNews Roundup
The first criminal trial of a former U.S. president began this week in Manhattan. Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, based on allegations that he dishonestly classified...
View ArticleConfidential Informants, Motions to Reveal Identity, and Discovery: Part I,...
Today I begin a series of blog posts discussing the law around confidential informants, motions to reveal identity, and discovery. Technological developments have made it more common for law...
View ArticleWhat is the Maximum Commitment Period That Must be Noticed at Disposition in...
When the court issues an order of disposition committing a juvenile to a youth development center (YDC), that commitment is almost always required to be for an indefinite period of time that lasts at...
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