In North Carolina, all drivers on the road are subject to the states implied consent law. This means that by hitting the open road, you automatically give your consent to submit to chemical testing if a police officer believes that you are driving while impaired. While you still have the right t...
A Shelby County man was recently arrested after a 7-hour standoff with local police. According to reports, the 33-year-old man was involved in an altercation with his grandfather that turned violent. As the grandfather drove away, the young man fired several gunshots in the direction of the car. ...
Children are always affected when their parents make the decision to get a divorce. Not only do parents have to figure out how to divide marital property, but they must also figure out who gets to spend time with the kids and when. Child custody arrangements are an essential component of a divorc...
Leslie Helton Eaves, a local Gaston County woman, is facing criminal charges for theft after stealing more than $600 from her employer. According to reports, the owners of Dans Restaurant in Bessemer City became suspicious when they noticed that cash was missing from the register. As it turns ou...
Owning property comes with many benefits. One of those benefits is to enjoy the exclusive use of that property without infringement from the outside world. If you enter or remain on another persons property without permission, you face both criminal and civil charges for trespassing. What will t...
Last year, Congress overhauled our tax code and made significant changes that will take effect in 2019. The new law touches on many areas of our lives - education, healthcare, and even the end of a marriage. If youre divorced or thinking about getting a divorce, it is important to understand how...
The number of hit and run accidents in North Carolina have been rising over the past decade. In 2016, there were approximately 15,000 hit and run accidents in the state. The aftermath of any traffic accident can be incredibly overwhelming. When the at-fault driver flees the scene of an accident, ...
With the #MeToo movement in full swing, victims of abuse are feeling confident enough to speak out against their abusers. This includes victims of domestic violence, who face abuse within their own families and relationships. It is great that real victims have support and a safe space to speak ou...
While some states are fighting to decriminalize some drug use, North Carolina is doubling down on its war on drugs. In 2017, thousands of people in North Carolina were arrested on drug possession charges. Most of these arrests were made as part of various County-oriented drug crackdown operations...
A recent United States Court of Appeals decision highlights one of the potential consequences of a North Carolina criminal conviction: a significantly increased sentence for subsequent crimes. United States v. Thompson Shawntanna Lemarus Thompson pled guilty to a drug offense and being a felon ...
The North Carolina Supreme Court recently decided that a drug dog sniff does not improperly prolong a traffic stop under certain circumstances. In State v. Bullock, the North Carolina Supreme Court considered whether a drug dog sniff unreasonably extended the duration of a traffic stop in violat...
Domestic violence cases can be incredibly complex. Dismissal rates are staggering, as people who are involved in disputes with intimate partners and/or family members are often uncooperative (due to various, intricate aspects of domestic violence) or are bound by spousal privilege laws. Although...
Two hundred years before cell phones, the founding fathers enacted the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect our citizens privacy. After suffering and escaping the Kings “general” search and seizure activities without any warrants, much less probable cause, the colonies stood aga...
A few months back, the Supreme Court announced that it would review a decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Decision in the controversial case, Carpenter v. United States. The potential landmark case has cultivated an array of questions concerning the fourth amendment and the ex...
When a large auto accident occurs on North Carolina highways, it is the duty of state troopers to take pictures and make measurements in an effort to determine what happened. No matter how much manpower is present on the scene of an accident, it oftentimes takes a number of hours and sometimes da...
North Carolinas license reinstatement process resembles that of the majority of states in the nation. This process entails that state motorists who break traffic laws and get their licenses rescinded undergo their suspension or revocation periods. Once this period comes to an end, residents typi...
Wrongful convictions occur every year in the United States at staggering rates. Last year, a total of 166 people were exonerated for crimes they didnt commit, setting a record for the most people absolved in a years time, according to data collected by the National Registry of Exonerations. As ...
Open container violations have invariably accompanied DWI and DUI charges and convictions in most states. However, a recent slew of appeals in open container cases reveal that the charges applicability and enforcement in these jurisdictions are often misconceived by both police departments and c...
The most disheartening aspect of a divorce is that no one is ever truly prepared for one. On the day of their union, couples are filled with hope that their marriage will be the one that lasts. But as time progresses and life hurls problems their way, some people find themselves so unhappy that d...
New and potential legislation on domestic violence aims to make it harder for convicted offenders get out of jail and start their life over. State legislators and the Governor, Roy Cooper, have made great strides in trying to deter occurrences of domestic violence offenses that lead to death by e...
Overcriminalization is a potent ailment that has infected every level of government across the nation. This proliferation - which has criminalized mundane behavior through the expansion of legislation - has particularly affected residents on a statewide scale. The collective of state residents wh...
In February 2016, a woman from Chapel Hill was driving home from work on Highway 54 when another driver lost control of his vehicle and collided head-on with the defendants vehicle at a speed of 45-miles per hour. Recently, the two drivers were able to settle the case for $825,000. The lawsuit ...
The wife of a former Boeing employee who fell to his death recently received a massive payout of $8.8 million after a jury found the airplane manufacturing company legally responsible for his death. David Priester Jr. worked for the company for a few years before his tragic fall in March 2013. T...
The current political climate, as well as a number of controversial events, have encouraged groups of different origins and ideologies to take full advantage of their constitutional right to peacefully protest. A large influx of protests, both large and small, have broken out across the nation ov...
The family of a student at Drexel University have filed a lawsuit against a number of members of a fraternity at the school over events that occurred in 2015. Ian McGibbon of Narbeth, Pennsylvania was severely injured in a fight. One night in September of 2015, Ians life was changed forever. Ian...
