News Roundup

Back in May, it appeared that North Carolina lawmakers were moving toward a repeal of automatic expunctions of dismissed charges. However, in recent weeks, they have reversed course and a law providing for such expunctions was signed by the Governor this week. The law requires cases to be automatically expunged between six and seven months after all charges are dismissed. Expunged files are to be retained by the clerk and will be available to the person whose case was expunged as well as the district attorney. The new law incorporates recommendations of a committee tasked with addressing logistical problems that arose after the passage of a previous automatic expunction law. Read on for more criminal law news. Lack of bodycam from April shooting in Charlotte. Although the U.S. Marshals Service plans to phase in the use of bodycams, the Charlotte Observer reports that marshals present during the April shooting in Charlotte that led to the death of four law enforcement officers were not yet equipped with bodycam. As a result, there is no bodycam footage depicting the initial encounter that led to the shooting. This information came to light during a court hearing to determine whether video footage from the incident should be released to the media. [Note that this item has been amended after receiving information from District Attorney Spencer Merriweather that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer serving on the task force was in fact equipped with body worn camera, but that the footage was not especially probative.] Karen Read not [...]