The Insanity Defense: From Fundamental Legal Principle to Legal Fiction
In Kahler, the Court did not merely uphold Kansas' interpretation of a vital protection; it allowed Kansas to, in effect, eviscerate the protection entirely. [...]
Constitutional Law
Supreme Court Ruling in Espinoza Has the Potential to Change School Choices for Students in Many States
The Supreme Court has had another opportunity to address the tension between the religion clauses: the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion, and the Free Exercise Clause, which requires the government to accommodate individuals to freely follow their religious beliefs or practices. Recently, the tension has surfaced most often concerning education funding and school choice programs. In January, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments [...]
Cell Site Simulators Meet the Fourth Amendment: When can the police track your phone (read: you) without a warrant?
“[M]odern cell phones . . . are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy." Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2484 (2014) [...]
Signed. Sealed. Delivered?
Amid government efforts to quell correspondence of prisoners, prisoners seek to enforce their fundamental First Amendment free speech rights, compelling federal courts to discharge their duty to protect them and create a clear standard by which the government should be bound in preserving this Constitutional covenant. [...]
Environmental Groups Petition Supreme Court to Halt Construction of Border Wall
One of the most hotly politicized issues in the United States this year is whether the President has the authority to direct the construction of a wall on the southern border between the United States and Mexico. Passionate arguments arose from all sides of the issue, and even made its way through the court system. In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration has the authority to redirect funds allocated to the military towards construction of a border wall. However, [...]
Tracking the Recent Decisions in North Carolina’s Satellite-Based Monitoring Jurisprudence
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated . . . . The black device exclaimed “low battery” in a robotic voice drawing curious glances from passerby. This was his cue. The ankle monitor called the shots; he either had to leave or find a nearby electrical outlet for the device’s daily two-hour charging. Letting it die was not an option as it would lose signal—a major violation, [...]
Leandro: The Constitutional Battleground For A Sound Education
After more than twenty years of litigation, Wake County Superior Court Judge David Lee signed a consent order in Leandro v. State, adopting the recommendations of a study conducted by WestEd. The 34-page order, released January 21, 2020, reignited a divisive constitutional issue regarding separation of powers and the right to a sound education. Background The Leandro legal battle began in 1994 after five rural school districts sued the State over their inability to provide an education equal [...]
Second Amendment Super Bowl: An Overview of the Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement
“This is like the Super Bowl for the Second Amendment right here,” an AR-15 wielding activist told Associated Press reporters right outside the Virginia state Capitol building. This gun-rights activist was just one of the estimated 22,000 protestors in attendance outside the Virginia Capitol this past Martin Luther King Jr. day. Days later, gun-rights activists in Kentucky took it one step further and demonstrated their support for gun-rights by physically wielding firearms inside the [...]
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Sexual Orientation is a Protected Class in the Workplace
The United States Supreme Court heard some of the most anticipated legal issues of the October court term. Among these cases, the Court will decide whether Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), one of the fundamental federal employment discrimination statutes, covers sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. Currently, Title VII explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The statute has never been [...]
North Carolina: The Last Frontier for Equality in Domestic Violence Protections for Same-Sex Couples
North Carolina is the only state that does not recognize equivalent domestic violence protection for same-sex couples as it does for opposite-sex couples. See Am. Bar Ass’n, Domestic Violence Civil Protection Orders (CPOs), (2014). Chapter 50B domestic violence protection orders are restricted to only opposite-sex dating relationships in North Carolina. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-1(b). The resulting discrimination against the unprotected and vulnerable parties in same-sex dating [...]
Desegregation in K-12 Schools in North Carolina Today
The New Hanover County Board of Education has proposed a plan to redistrict elementary, middle, and high school districts for the 2020-21 school year. The plan utilizes a variety of factors, one of which is the racial make-up of neighborhoods in New Hanover County. This would be a new method of desegregation in modern society, one of which has never been tested under the United States Constitution and the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. The proposed plan will likely be [...]
Teacher Participation Concerning Religion in North Carolina Public Schools
As a state in the “Bible Belt,” it is not uncommon to hear of a North Carolina public school being involved with religion to some degree, whether it be a teacher helping young students pray in class, a teacher participating in a See You at the Pole™ event, or school board members seeking to incorporate prayer at board meetings. Public schools are extensions of the state government and actions by school teachers and personnel may be considered government acts. While the United States [...]
Opinion: Garner and Wake Forest’s Parade Cancellations May Be Unconstitutional
The towns of Garner and Wake Forest cancelled their 2019 Christmas parades after the Sons of Confederate Veterans announced that the group planned to include floats in the parades. Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard explained that the town cancelled the parade because the town feared that the Sons of Confederate Veterans would draw protests from outsiders. Chief Leonard explained: Groups that contact us about their plans to protest tend to follow our rules and regulations. We’re [...]
Climate Change and the Constitution: The Right to a Clean Environment
Climate change is an issue that has recently come to the forefront of discussion in both the United States and the rest of the world. Commonly, climate change is debated through the lens of politics, social policy, or economic principles. The legal field has not yet delved as deeply into the issue. Until recently, many have hoped to combat climate change through legislation and lifestyle changes. However, individuals, activists, and other groups around the country have now turned to [...]
Is that Legal Hemp or Illegal Marijuana? Essential Differences and the Consequences of Treating Them the Same
The 2019 North Carolina Farm Bill looks to ban smokable hemp throughout the state. The North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate are at odds choosing a date to ban smokable hemp. One side wants to accommodate law enforcement’s request to ban hemp, while the other side wants to make sure local farmers are protected. The legalization of smokable hemp creates issues in relation to law enforcement’s ability to establish probable cause based on the odor or appearance of marijuana. [...]