The weather forecast calls for a rainy weekend: a good time to sit around, listening to some music. Preferably Bob Dylan, since he is apparently the musician most often cited in legal opinions, more than the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen combined. In other news: 1. The Innocence Inquiry Commission is looking into an Asheville murder case. Several defendants pleaded guilty, but now contend that exculpatory DNA evidence was withheld, that they were pressured by defense counsel, and that they are in fact innocent. The Commission unanimously referred the case to a three-judge panel for a hearing. The News and Observer has stories here, here, and here, and an editorial about H 778, which would prohibit the Commission from considering guilty plea cases in the future, here. 2. Speaking of bills pending before the General Assembly, folks may be interested in H 779, which would expand G.S. 15A-211. The statute currently requires that custodial interrogations in homicide cases be recorded, as long as they happen at a "place of detention." The bill would require recording for "all custodial interrogations of juveniles in criminal investigations conducted at any place of detention" and to custodial interrogations in connection with "any Class A, B1, or B2 felony, and any Class C felony of rape, sex offense, or assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury." The bill passed the House unanimously and is now before the Senate. 3. Following up on a story mentioned here last week, the News and Observer [...]
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