News Roundup

Published for NC Criminal Law on April 04, 2011.

The usual Friday news roundup was displaced last week by an extremely important post. But the news itself just kept coming, including the following: 1. The General Assembly passed the Forensic Sciences Act, a bill that will reform the workings of the SBI crime lab. A News and Observer story about the bill is here, and summarizes some of the changes as follows: "The lab, formerly known as the SBI Crime Laboratory, will be known as the North Carolina Crime Laboratory . . . . The lab must meet the highest international standards, and individual scientists and analysts must be certified in their field and receive regular training and competency tests." The bill itself is here. It has been signed by the Governor, and for the most part, is effective immediately. Another bill has been introduced that would remove the lab from SBI control, as discussed here; the text of that bill is here. 2. Fallout from the Duke lacrosse case continues. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports here that MDNC Judge James Beaty "declined to dismiss the players’ claims that their constitutional rights were violated" by former District Attorney Mike Nifong and the City of Durham. In a coincidence, former accuser Crystal Mangum has just been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. The News and Observer reports here that she is alleged to have stabbed her boyfriend with a kitchen knife. The story observes that last year, "police accused Mangum of [...]