TL;DR Quick Take: North Carolina v. Rogers could prove to be one of the most consequential constitutional rulings in North Carolina criminal law in decades. The opinion not only interprets N.C.G.S. § 15A-974 but also redefines how North Carolina courts understand the relationship between the Fourth Amendment and Article I,…
The Supreme Court of North Carolina’s opinion in North Carolina v. Rogers (Oct. 17, 2025) deserves careful study by criminal defense and DUI defense lawyers. TL;DR Quick Take North Carolina v. Rogers reshapes how certain suppression motions may be litigated in North Carolina. The Supreme Court interpreted the 2011 “good faith” amendment…
Accessing video evidence, body-cam, and dash-cam video in North Carolina potentially just became a lot harder to obtain. TL;DR Quick Take: North Carolina v. Chemuti limits how defendants can access police body-worn and dash-camera recordings. The Supreme Court held that Rule 45 subpoenas cannot compel production of law-enforcement video. Instead,…
Judicial independence is one of the defining principles of American government. It protects the courts from political retaliation, intimidation, and coercion, allowing judges to apply the law faithfully rather than bending to public opinion or private pressure. Without judicial independence, due process would be hollow, and the rule of law…
Due process is one of the most enduring phrases in the American constitutional tradition. It appears in the Fifth Amendment, binding the federal government, and in the Fourteenth Amendment, extending the guarantee to the states. North Carolina’s Constitution also secures due process through Article I, Section 19, which provides that…
Quick Take: North Carolina vs. Wilson (Oct. 2025) holds that a defendant’s jailhouse letter admitting to a shooting to law enforcement was admissible as substantive evidence, even when framed as a negotiation. Jailhouse letters in North Carolina are not protected under Rule 408 and may be used as proof of guilt.…
When is video evidence admissible? Quick Take: In North Carolina vs. Ramsey (COA25-145, filed Oct. 1, 2025), the Court of Appeals approved admission of a short cell-phone clip for illustrative purposes: Eyewitness testified it fairly and accurately depicted what was observed Court treated missing chain links as issues of weight…
Can You Appeal After a Guilty Plea in North Carolina? Quick Take: North Carolina v. Branham shows that guilty pleas in North Carolina do not automatically preserve appellate rights, but certiorari may sometimes fill the gap. The Court of Appeals held no statutory right existed to appeal a denied immunity…
For more than three decades, I have worked in North Carolina courtrooms handling DUI cases where law, science, and technology collide. Few areas highlight that collision more than impaired driving prosecutions involving fatalities and serious injuries. When an officer testifies about roadside tests or a LCA – Licensed Chemical Analyst…
Do you believe in the Rule of Law? Talking heads from various sources bandy about Due Process, Equal Protection, and the Rule of Law. But what do those terms really mean and are they even relevant in today’s perpetual, and frankly exhausting, messaging infrastructure? Stripped of partisan slogans, the concept…