Last week, several people sent me news articles about the prosecution of Samuel Tunick, who was detained by federal agents while re-entering the United States after a trip abroad. During the encounter, officers asked him for the passcode to his phone, but he reportedly gave them a duress code that wiped the device. Tunick was charged with a federal felony destruction of evidence offense. This post lays out what we know about the case, speculates about why it has...
NC Criminal Law
on Monday, August 3rd, 2026
#NCPROTIP
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Each separate offense charged against a defendant must be pled in a separate pleading, or in a separate count within a single pleading. See G.S. 15A-924(a)(2).
Venue is proper in the entire district of the alleged offense, not just the particular county where the offense allegedly occurred. See G.S. 15A-131(b). Probable cause hearings are an exception and must be held in the county where the offense occurred. See G.S. 15a-131(c).
If the elements of the offense were committed in more than one county, each county in which an element of the crime was committed has concurrent venue. See G.S. 15A-132(a).
The key question for double jeopardy analysis is whether each offense requires proof of an element that is not contained in the other — if not, they are the same offense and double jeopardy bars a successive prosecution.
An acquittal under the Double Jeopardy Clause includes a dismissal of a charge for insufficient evidence or an appellate court’s reversal of a conviction for insufficient evidence.
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