A defendant who claims self-defense is generally permitted to offer evidence of the victim’s prior violent conduct if known to the defendant at the time defensive force was used. Such evidence is relevant to the reasonableness of the defendant’s belief…
Read MoreThe top story this week is that country music star Jelly Roll has been recommended for a pardon by a Tennessee parole board. NBC has the story, as well as ABC and the AP. The singer, whose legal name is…
Read MoreThe defendant in State v. Bell, No. 86A02-2 (N.C. March 21, 2025), failed to object to gender-based discrimination during jury selection. Accordingly, the North Carolina Supreme Court concluded that the “defendant’s J.E.B. claim was not preserved for appellate review.” Slip…
Read MoreThe defendant in State v. Greenfield, No. COA23-597 (N.C. Ct. App. Feb. 19, 2025), argued the trial court erred by admitting evidence and allowing argument about an attempted armed robbery charge for which he had previously been acquitted. The Court…
Read MoreSeven men are charged with stealing millions from the homes of six professional athletes across the country, as reported by NPR. Court documents do not identify the victims by name, but the details are consistent with reported burglaries at the…
Read MoreA new Administration of Justice Bulletin on Aggregation of Financial Crimes is now available. I previously posted about this topic here, and the bulletin expands on the issue, seeking to place G.S. 15A-1340.16F within the context of other sentence enhancement…
Read MoreThe lead story this week is the sentencing of former U.S. senator Bob Menendez on Wednesday to 11 years in prison, per this report from the Washington Post. Menendez, 71, a longtime New Jersey lawmaker, was convicted last year in…
Read MoreThe castle doctrine statute, G.S. 14-51.2, provides that it is presumptively reasonable for the lawful occupant of a home or motor vehicle to respond to an intruder with deadly force. State v. Phillips, 386 N.C. 513, 527 (2024). Two recent…
Read MoreNorth Carolina is a bilateral conspiracy jurisdiction. Defining conspiracy as a combination of two or more persons to do an unlawful thing means that if the only other participant is an undercover officer or an informant – that is, one…
Read MoreThe top story this week is the arrest on Monday of Luigi Mangione, 26, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Multiple news outlets, including ABC, BBC and CBS, have reported on…
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