News Roundup

Published for NC Criminal Law on July 05, 2019.

Though Independence Day has passed, the celebration will continue for many through a weekend of travel and events with family and friends.  Through Friday evening, the NCDOT is suspending most major projects that require lane closure, and projects may be suspended on Sunday as well.  Law enforcement agencies across the state are putting extra emphasis on safe driving and boating this weekend, planning impaired driving checkpoints and extra patrols with Operation Firecracker.  If you shoot off any actual firecrackers, you might be violating state law and you shouldn’t compound the situation by doing it unsafely – be smart and consult the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s 2019 Fireworks Injuries poster.  Enjoy the holiday weekend and keep reading for more news. Innocence Commission.  The Associated Press reported this week that the appointment of former Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt as a representative of defense attorneys on the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission has caused some controversy.  State law requires that the Commission include a member who is a prosecuting attorney and another who is a defense attorney.  Britt represented prosecuting attorneys on the Commission until his recent retirement as District Attorney.  North Carolina Court of Appeals Chief Judge Linda McGee appointed Britt to the new role representing defense attorneys, saying that he was “fair, capable and very involved” in his previous role.  Some defense attorneys, including Chris Mumma of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, have said that the perspective that comes with years of experience as a defense attorney is [...]