From NACDL’s Fourth Amendment Center – One of the most challenging parts of litigating surveillance technology in criminal cases is identifying and getting access to appropriate discovery. Often, the types of technologies used in a case are opaque and cannot be identified, let alone challenged, until certain information is shared during discovery. Even if you …
Practice Tips
Discovery Template for AI and Surveillance Technology Evidence
The Discovery Demand for AI and Surveillance Technology Evidence template created by Mitha Nandagopalan of the Innocence Project’s Strategic Litigation Department outlines categories of discovery that can be requested in cases involving artificial intelligence and surveillance tools. By reviewing this list and incorporating relevant requests in their discovery motions, attorneys can seek disclosure of technological …
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False Positives, Real Consequences: What the Quest Diagnostics Issue Reveals About Drug Testing Failures
In April 2025, The Guardian reported that Quest Diagnostics used an “alternative reagent” in thousands of urine drug screens conducted within California prisons (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/california-prison-drug-tests). This change, made without sufficient external disclosure, resulted in a dramatic spike in presumptive positive tests for opiates—tripling the usual rate. More than 5,000 incarcerated individuals may have been affected, many …
The Fourth Circuit Weighs in on THC-O and “Synthetic” THC
Originally posted on North Carolina Criminal Law, a UNC School of Government Blog In September, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant decision affecting the hemp industry on the federal level. There has been an open question for some time regarding the legality of certain cannabinoids that do not naturally occur in the …
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Smith v. Arizona and testimony of substitute analysts
On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court issued an important decision in Smith v. Arizona. This is a good opinion; you should know about it if you don’t already. If you’d like to join an informal discussion of this case and its importance for NC defenders, Phil Dixon and I will be talking about it on the …
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Spring 2024 Cannabis Update (Part II)
This update was originally posted on Apr. 10, 2024 on North Carolina Criminal Law, a UNC School of Government Blog available here. In Part I of my Spring 2024 cannabis update, I discussed the search and seizure issues arising in North Carolina courts around cannabis. Part II explores drug identification evidence issues surrounding marijuana prosecutions and examines …
Spring 2024 Cannabis Update (Part I)
This update was originally posted on Apr. 8, 2024 on North Carolina Criminal Law, a UNC School of Government Blog available here. It has been a while since my last post on cannabis and criminal law issues, and it is past time for an update. In addition to a number of state cases grappling with …
Is this all of the data?
In some cases involving cell phone extractions, public defenders and other criminal defense attorneys are being provided with incomplete discovery. When the prosecution provides only PDF and UFED Reader reports to defense counsel, this is not complete discovery. While the UFED Reader reports can be helpful in navigating the phone’s data, the UFED Reader is …
FAQs to assist with representing clients with Autism
The Autism Society partnered with Legal Reform for the Intellectually & Developmentally Disabled to produce an FAQ for Public Defenders on how to work with a client with Autism. An FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin found that Americans with Autism are seven times more likely to be victims of crime due to vulnerability, twelve times more likely to become …
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Possession of Khat
Originally posted on North Carolina Criminal Law – A UNC School of Government Blog Readers may have heard of the plant commonly known as khat or qat (or Catha edulis, for the botanically inclined). The plant is indigenous to Africa and is popular in parts of that continent, as well as parts of the Middle East, and is …
<a href="https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/possession-of-khat/">Possession of Khat</a>Read More
Use of Rap Lyrics at Trial
Whether the prosecution can use rap lyrics as evidence of a defendant’s guilt comes up regularly in criminal cases. Researchers have found evidence of rap lyrics being introduced in hundreds of criminal cases nationwide. In North Carolina, the use of rap lyrics was upheld in the unpublished Court of Appeals decision, State v. Allen, NC …
What to do with low-quality video evidence
Last week an article in The Assembly, The Shooter in the Video, came across my virtual desk. The article focused on the case of James Richardson, who was convicted of murder in Pitt County in 2011, and the work of his family, supporters and his post-conviction attorney Heather Rattelade to overturn his conviction. A key …
Cost and procedures for accessing autopsy information
Some common questions come up in homicide cases when a defense attorney needs to access information from the OCME and regional autopsy centers and speak with the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy in the case. This post addresses some of these questions using information obtained from the four offices that perform autopsies for North …
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Changes to Remote Testimony by Lab Analysts
Defenders should make sure they are familiar with how recent legislative changes affect remote testimony by lab analysts, especially in district court. Shea Denning’s post on the School of Government Blog provides an in-depth analysis of the changes. The AOC provided a memo on the issue, available here. The AOC has also created the AOC-CR-346 …
Marijuana Impairment FAQ
Overview: Blood concentrations of THC and its metabolites are not sufficient to prove impairment. Testimony about additional signs of impairment is necessary to prove impairment. The main reasons for the disconnect between THC blood concentration and impairment is that impairment occurs in the brain, not the blood, and the chemical nature of THC causes it …