A few years ago, T-shirts and coffee mugs with the phrase “Please do not confuse your Google search with my law degree,” were making the rounds. What simpler times those were. Thanks to the rapid development and proliferation of generative
North Carolina Criminal Law
The North Carolina Criminal Law blog, published by UNC School of Government, covers developments in criminal law relevant to North Carolina practitioners. It provides case summaries from appellate courts, legislative updates including changes to gun laws and sentencing enhancements, and analysis of specific legal defenses such as diminished capacity and voluntary intoxication. The blog also addresses procedural issues like expert testimony admissibility and discovery violations, as well as statutory interpretations of laws like the Good Samaritan harm reduction statute. Its content focuses on practical implications of criminal law decisions, statutory changes, and defense strategies within the state.
Latest from North Carolina Criminal Law - Page 3
Time’s Arrow: Does McLymore’s Causal Nexus Requirement Have a Temporal Component?
The statutory right to use deadly force in self-defense is not available to one who was committing a felony. G.S. 14-51.4(1). In State v. McLymore, 380 N.C. 185 (2022), the North Carolina Supreme Court interpreted this provision as…
Cyberstalking and Free Speech
By Jeff Welty
In recent months, I have received several questions about what North Carolina’s cyberstalking statute covers and whether it may infringe on First Amendment free speech rights. This post addresses several potential legal issues under the statute.
Background. The statute is…
Total Split Sentence Exposure, Revisited
In 2018, I wrote this post, https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/2018/11/28/total-split-sentence-exposure/, about split sentences, examining the total limit on split sentence incarceration that a judge can order at sentencing and as a later modification of probation. There’s a “one-fourth rule” at sentencing, allowing…
Extradition Basics: Fugitive Warrants and Governor’s Warrants
Extradition is the procedure by which a person who has committed a crime in one state, escaped from custody in one state, or violated probation, parole or post-release supervision imposed by one state and has fled to another state is…
Updated Chapters in the Superior Court Judges’ Benchbook
By Shea Denning
Several chapters in the criminal law and evidence sections of the Superior Court Judges’ Benchbook recently have been updated. Among those chapters is Indictments, written by Joe Hyde, which begins by noting the significance of the North Carolina Supreme…
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (April 1, 2026)
By Shea Denning
This post summarizes published criminal law opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 1, 2026.
(1) Evidence was sufficient to support charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm within an occupied enclosure with the intent…
Developments in Roadside Drug Testing
Earlier this year, I attended the North Carolina Oral Fluid Summit sponsored by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. The focus of the Summit was roadside oral fluid testing for substances other than…
Availability and Unavailability for Confrontation and Hearsay Purposes
The words “available” and “unavailable” are used regularly when referring to witnesses whose out-of-court statements parties would like to admit into evidence. However, in working with Timothy Heinle to revise and update the Superior Court Judges’ Benchbook chapter on Evidence…
Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (Mar. 20, 2026)
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Supreme Court released on March 20, 2026.
Circumstantial evidence was sufficient to submit robbery with a dangerous weapon to the jury where the evidence tended to show the defendant…