This post was originally published on this siteDuring the pandemic, we got accustomed to doing certain court proceedings virtually—initially under authority of the Chief Justice’s emergency orders (which Shea discussed here), and later by statute, under G.S. 7A-49.6. That law…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this siteI’m happy to announce the availability of the Second Edition of Probation Violations in North Carolina. The book is available in the School of Government bookstore, here. Even though the number of people…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on July 16, 2025. A juvenile adjudication was properly deemed substantially similar to an offense that would require…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this siteToday’s post reviews the latest Structured Sentencing Statistical Report from the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. This year’s report, based on data from Fiscal Year 2024, is available in full here.…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this siteUnder G.S. 15A-1380.5, a law that existed from late 1994 to late 1998, North Carolina defendants sentenced to life without parole for offenses committed between October 1, 1994, and November 30, 1998, are…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this sitePost-release supervision has been mandatory for all felonies since 2011. But rarely if ever does anyone mention it when advising a defendant about a waiver of counsel or the consequences of a guilty…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this sitePost-release supervision has been mandatory for all felonies since 2011. But rarely if ever does anyone mention it when advising a defendant about a waiver of counsel or the consequences of a guilty…
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This post was originally published on this siteThis post is about the recurring issue of the requirement for a court to make findings of “good cause shown and stated” to preserve its jurisdiction to act on an alleged probation violation…
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This post was originally published on this siteUnder G.S. 15A-1346(b), a sentencing court has the authority to order a probationary sentence to run consecutively to an undischarged term of imprisonment. Probation officers refer to that as a “contingent” sentence, because…
Read MoreThis post was originally published on this siteThere are about 10,000 people on post-release supervision (PRS) in North Carolina. Some of them get charged with a new crime. That new charge usually prompts the issuance of a PRS warrant. And…
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