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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Although illegal marijuana and lawful hemp look and smell the same, criminal prosecution for pot in North Carolina can still be legitimate when sight or odor contributes to a warrantless search and seizure, the state Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday.
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A three-judge panel found no errors of the trial judge and attorney for Derek Edwin Highsmith, who was convicted last year of felony marijuana possession stemming from a Duplin County traffic stop in 2017. He was sentenced to a maximum of a little over four years in prison.
The N.C. Court of Appeals plans to increase transparency related to its work next week. In a policy change that takes effect Monday, the court will share more information about its responses to petitions.
The N.C. Court of Appeals has issued a 2-1 ruling favoring the town of Wake Forest in its legal dispute over construction of a new charter school. But some state lawmakers want to make it more difficult for local governments to stand in the way of new charter schools.
Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly are asking the state's full Court of Appeals to temporarily block a ruling allowing certain felony offenders to vote while they appeal the case.