North Carolina Criminal Lawyer: Assaults and Threats against Public Officials
Someone who assaults – places a public official in imminent fear of being touched or hit or actually hits or unlawfully touches a public official – may be convicted of a Class F felony under Sec....
View ArticleWhat is a Motion to Continue
A motion to continue is a request by a party – in a criminal case, either the State represented in Raleigh by the Wake County District Attorney or the defense, usually represented by a criminal defense...
View ArticleWhat is a Motion to Compel Discovery?
What is “discovery”? Discovery is the process in either criminal or civil procedure of providing information to the other side. In criminal law, discovery is usually – although not always – provided by...
View ArticleConfidential Informants – A Secret and Corrupt System
NPR has an interesting report on the use and abuse of confidential informants. Here’s an excerpt: Loyola Law School professor Alexandra Natapoff, author of the new book Snitching, says the public has...
View ArticleWhat is Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Normally if someone is picked up for a misdemeanor drug charge, he is charged with two crimes: simple possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. The paraphernalia charge is the more serious of...
View ArticleConfrontation Clause and DWI Cases – Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
For years North Carolina, like many states, permitted the State to introduce the results of a DWI defendant’s breath test. That meant that the Defendant’s attorney would have no opportunity to question...
View ArticleNC Criminal Lawyer: Attorney-Client Confidentiality
Things you say to a non-lawyer may be used against you in a court of law. In particular, things you say to friends, to loved ones (depending on the relationship), to colleagues, to police, to...
View ArticleWhat Happens if You Refuse a DWI Breathalyzer?
When is a refusal not a refusal? Under North Carolina’s implied consent laws, anyone driving on the roads of North Carolina “consents” to a breathalyzer or blood examine if an officer has reason to...
View ArticleCriminal lawyer Raleigh The Death Penalty in America
Like many defense attorneys, I am opposed to the death penalty. But unlike, many defense attorneys, I am not opposed to the death penalty because I think it’s immoral. I’m opposed to the death penalty...
View ArticleCriminal lawyer Raleigh San Francisco DA on the Verge of Mass Dismissals
News out of San Francisco that the District Attorney may dismiss hundreds of cases because of problems with the local crime lab: San Francisco prosecutors told judges Friday that they could not...
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