A judge overturned the convictions of four men accused as teens of murdering NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather.
Michael Hewlett
Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.
Posted inNewsletters
The Thread: A Reporter Notebook and Legal Limbo
A Guilford County judge silenced a News & Record reporter and seized her notes. The same judge is blocking efforts to challenge the ruling.
Posted inPolitics & Government
Stuck in Byzantine Limbo
An attorney for the News & Record says a judge and court officials are blocking efforts to challenge her ruling.
Posted inCourts & Justice
An Inmate’s Unlikely Ally
Charles McNeair has been in prison for more than 45 years. He has a surprising new advocate for clemency: the police chief.
Posted inCourts & Justice, Legislation, Politics & Government
A Ticking Clock for Wrongful Conviction Claims
A new law sets a seven-year time limit to file a motion for appropriate relief. Opponents worry it could allow wrongful convictions to stand.
Posted inCourts & Justice
Prosecutors Made a Rare Concession in a Murder Case. But Will It Matter?
Ruben Wright was a high-ranking Black Marine before his murder conviction. His lawyers say a main theory presented at trial has since collapsed.
Posted inPolitics & Government
Griffin Concedes to Riggs, Ending Six-Month Fight Over NC Supreme Court Race
The concession comes two days after a federal judge ordered the State Board of Elections to certify the 734-vote win for Riggs.
Posted inCourts & Justice
Wake Prosecutor Accused of Withholding Evidence–Again
A judge declared a mistrial after a prosecutor withheld incriminating information about a confidential informant.
Posted inCourts & Justice, Higher Education
A Fight Over a ‘Cop City’ in Matthews
A new lawsuit alleges that Central Piedmont Community College violated open meeting laws and shielded the public from information about a law enforcement training facility.
Posted inCourts & Justice, Politics & Government
Abolishing Innocence
Republicans in the state Senate have proposed eliminating the Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only one of its kind in the U.S.
