There's been lots of interesting news lately, so I'll dive right in. 1. The state supreme court issued several opinions yesterday. By far the most significant criminal case is State v. Ward. I may do a whole post about Ward, but the basic holding is that visual identification of controlled substances is unreliable and that "[u]nless the State establishes . . . that another method of identification is sufficient to establish the identity of the controlled substance beyond a reasonable doubt, some form of scientifically valid chemical analysis is required." 2. The front page of the News and Observer today features a story about the General Assembly's efforts to outlaw so-called "internet sweepstakes," the offspring of video poker. These games have proven to be an elusive target, and it will be interesting to see what action, if any, the legislature takes. 3. The legislature also appears to be considering whether to ban "synthetic cannabinoids," including "Spice." As I understand it, these products are combinations of non-controlled herbal ingredients intended to mimic the effects of marijuana. HB 2073 and SB 1452 are authorizing resolutions that represent first steps in the direction of a ban. 4. Last week, I mentioned that a death row inmate in Utah requested to be executed by firing squad. The execution took place early this morning, apparently without incident as reported here. 5. Ars Technica recently profiled the FBI's five most wanted cyber criminals. It's an interesting group, though I find it a little hard to believe that [...]
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