This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on August 5, 2026.
No Fourth Amendment violation where law enforcement seized bloody shirt from the defendant during previous incident involving potential violent crime and
Jeff wrote last week about several provisions in the 2026 Appropriations Act that might be of interest to readers. This week, I’m back with one more: Section 16.19 of the Act establishes special procedures for the disposition of matters designated
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 subject.
A rebuttable presumption against pretrial release is grounded
We are excited to announce the publication of a new bulletin in our Administration of Justice series: “Initial Appearances before North Carolina Magistrates.” Special thanks to my colleagues Brittany Bromell and Melanie Crenshaw in putting this together. They
Last week, several people sent me news articles about the prosecution of Samuel Tunick, who was detained by federal agents while re-entering the United States after a trip abroad. During the encounter, officers asked him for the passcode to his
Effective beginning with offenses committed on or after December 1, 2025, Part V. of Session law 2023-114 significantly revised North Carolina’s law governing capacity to proceed in delinquency cases. The changes included creation of new credentialing requirements for juvenile forensic
North Carolina has a budget again. S257 became S.L. 2026-41 when Governor Stein signed it on July 7. The bill contains many provisions pertinent to the criminal justice community. Some, like the $1,750 bonus for every local law enforcement officer
It’s the day of trial in superior court and final motions and notices are being exchanged before the jury pool comes in. Amidst the sharing of witness lists, motions to sequester, and motions in limine, an issue comes up. Has
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment bars the State from introducing testimonial hearsay statements from a witness who does not testify at trial unless the witness is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
Constitutional protection against double jeopardy is understood to extend no further than the Fifth Amendment requires. Two recent cases from the Court of Appeals, however, seem to find greater double jeopardy protection under state law. In State v. Broadway,
