Phil Dixon, Author at Disability and Representation

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2025)

Phil Dixon — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:24:09 +0000

This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during August 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here. Defendant failed to show that traffic stop was motivated by racial animus; district court’s finding of … Read more

The post Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2025) appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

News Roundup

Phil Dixon — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:35:28 +0000

For the third week, federal forces continue to perform law enforcement duties in the District of Columbia pursuant to President Trump’s efforts to combat an alleged epidemic of crime there. This is despite the Department of Justice’s data indicating that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low. The U.S. Attorney for the … Read more

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Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (July 2025)

Phil Dixon — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:38:02 +0000

This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during July of 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here. Petitioner met the standard for a claim of actual innocence and was entitled to merits … Read more

The post Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (July 2025) appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

New Crime of Exposing a Child to Controlled Substances and Other 2025 Drug Law Changes

Phil Dixon — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 15:35:54 +0000

As regular readers know, the General Assembly passed a slew of statutes affecting our criminal law this summer, including controlled substances law. In S.L. 2025-70 (S.B. 429), the legislature created the new offense of exposing a child to a controlled substance. The same session law increased the penalties for most fentanyl offenses. With S.L. 2025-71 … Read more

The post New Crime of Exposing a Child to Controlled Substances and Other 2025 Drug Law Changes appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

New Free Webinar Friday on Recovery Courts and the Role of Defense Counsel

Phil Dixon — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 15:13:09 +0000

In case you missed it, I wanted to remind folks that the Public Defense Education team here, with support from the Office of Indigent Defense Services, is proud to offer a new webinar, Recovery Courts: An Overview for Defenders. Recovery courts (also known as treatment courts) have long played an important role in the criminal … Read more

The post New Free Webinar Friday on Recovery Courts and the Role of Defense Counsel appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

COA Shuts Down Second Amendment Challenges to Firearm by Felon

Phil Dixon — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 15:15:43 +0000

Back in February, the Court of Appeals decided State v. Nanes, COA24-487, ___ N.C. App. ___; 912 S.E.2d 202 (Feb. 19, 2025) (summarized here). The case considered and ultimately rejected facial and as-applied Second Amendment challenges to G.S. 14-415.1, our state prohibition on possession of firearms by a felon. Nanes squarely rejected the idea that … Read more

The post COA Shuts Down Second Amendment Challenges to Firearm by Felon appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

News Roundup

Phil Dixon — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:40:20 +0000

One of the top stories this week was the announcement by the Department of Justice that they intend to recommend a one-day, time-served sentence for former Louisville, Kentucky police officer, Brett Hankison. Hankinson was tried and convicted in federal court for using excessive force in violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights. Taylor was killed by … Read more

The post News Roundup appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2025)

Phil Dixon — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 18:36:53 +0000

This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during June of 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here. Military search warrant plainly did not authorize seizure and search of defendant’s cell phone and … Read more

The post Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2025) appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 2025)

Phil Dixon — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:55:27 +0000

This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during May 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here. Motion to compel information from foreign law enforcement agency was properly denied; motion to suppress also … Read more

The post Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 2025) appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

News Roundup

Phil Dixon — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 13:47:55 +0000

Multiple acts of mass violence plagued the country this week. In Boulder, Colorado on Sunday, a man attacked a group of people demonstrating on behalf of Israeli hostages held by Hamas with a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails, resulting in injuries to fifteen people. The suspect has been charged with federal hate crimes, attempted murder, … Read more

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