News Roundup

Published for NC Criminal Law on October 23, 2020.

This week the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Purdue Pharma will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges related to the company’s distribution of its opioid painkiller OxyContin.  The company will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, offenses generally arising from Purdue Pharma’s efforts in coordination with others in the medical field to dispense OxyContin without a legitimate medical purpose.  As the Associated Press reports, the plea deal is part of an $8 billion settlement that includes a $2 billion criminal forfeiture, a $3.54 billion criminal fine, and $2.8 billion in civil damages.  The deal does not absolve the Sackler family, who owned the company while it engaged in the illicit activity, from criminal liability and some are calling for members of the family to face charges.  Keep reading for more news. Defender Manual.  There’s exciting news this week from the Public Defender Education group here at the School of Government with the announcement of the release of the 2020 edition of the North Carolina Defender Manual, Volume Two, Trial.  The manual focuses on criminal procedure at the trial stage and includes chapters researched and written from 2018 to 2020. Intended as a resource for trial-level criminal defense attorneys, the manual is immensely useful for anyone working in North Carolina’s criminal courts.  Hard copies are available here and, as with the rest of the Indigent Defense Manual Series, a free digital copy is available here. Deputy Passes.  The Greensboro News & Record [...]