Considering how close we are to the holidays, there's been a surprising amount of activity in the criminal law world lately. Stories of interest include the following: 1. The Bowden saga continues, but appears to be headed for a decisive conclusion: the North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to review, on an expedited basis, the issue of whether certain inmates sentenced to life imprisonment in the 1970s are eligible for release because of good time credits. The News and Observer's story is here. 2. Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour declared portions of G.S. 14-208.18, which prohibits sex offenders from being on, or within 300 feet of, certain premises, to be unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The News and Observer's story is here, and our own Jamie Markham's attempt to set the reporter straight on the scope of the law is reported here. (As an aside, I'm not sure that the latter item really conveys Jamie's point very well. Mainly, I believe that he's pointing out (1) that the statute applies only to the subset of sex offenders described in G.S. 14-208.18(c), and (2) that the statute doesn't preclude those offenders from going within 300 feet of places intended for the use, care, or supervision of minors unless they are "located on premises that are not" so intended. In other words, a covered offender can walk right past a stand-alone daycare, but can't go within 300 feet of the childcare facility in an Ikea store.) 3. The FBI reports that the rate of [...]
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