This post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on May 7, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable…

This post was originally published on this siteThere are six sentencing levels for Driving While Impaired (DWI) convictions. A defendant is only exposed to the three most severe levels (A1, 1, and 2) if a judge or jury finds the…

This post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 16, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable…

This post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during March 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of…

This post was originally published on this siteA woman was babysitting a child near Great Bend, Kansas, when the child she was watching complained of a monster under the bed. Seeking to assuage the child’s fear, the babysitter checked under…

This post was originally published on this siteIt has long been held that the allowable unit of prosecution for an offense is within the discretion of the legislature. See, e.g., Bell v. United States, 349 U.S. 81 (1955).  When the legislature does not clearly express…

This post was originally published on this siteEarlier last month, the Court of Appeals decided State v. Watlington, COA23-1106, ___ N.C. App. ___ (2025). Among other issues, in its decision the Court addressed an open question: what is the unit…

This post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 19, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable…

This post was originally published on this siteThis post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during February 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of…

This post was originally published on this siteThe 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…