New DWI Law Expands Access to Limited Driving Privileges
January 10th, 2025
A new law expands access to limited driving privileges. Previously, LDPs were unavailable to those with a prior DWI conviction in the last seven years. Effective December 1, 2024, this law changed. Now, certain Level Two offenders are eligible. To be eligible, individuals must be Level Two offenders only because of a prior DWI conviction: (1) withi…
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Is Your Subpoena Defective?
July 16th, 2021
On July 6, 2021, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that a witness may be held in criminal contempt despite being served with a defective subpoena because she was additionally served by telephone subpoena. See State v. Gonzalez, ___ N.C. App. ___, 2021-NCCOA-309 (2021). To appreciate the holding, one must understand that a subpoena may served in sever…
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Police Recordings and North Carolina Law
May 2nd, 2021
Law enforcement body-worn and dash camera recordings (“Police Recordings”) have been the subject of nationwide controversies. Most recently, a North Carolina court denied the release of Police Recordings in a high-profile case in Elizabeth City. This article provides a general understanding of the law governing the release and disclosure of Pol…
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Unknown Traps of a 50B
December 30th, 2020
Many North Carolinians are familiar with a “50B.” However, most are unaware of its authorized relief and profound impacts in other areas of law. The Statutory Structure A “50B” is shorthand for the statutes authorizing relief from an act of domestic violence. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-1, et seq. An act of “domestic violence” includes a…
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Grace Has Limitations: Criminal Law Immunity
December 21st, 2020
On December 15, 2020, the N.C. Court of Appeals held that an immunity from prosecution statute does not apply to a drug possession charge when a defendant failed to raise the defense of immunity during trial after she overdosed, sought medical assistance, and evidence was gathered therefrom. See State v. Osborne, ___ N.C. App. ___, 2020 N.C. App. L…
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Is the North Carolina Stay-at-Home Order Lawful?
May 12th, 2020
Life brings controversy. The Stay-at-Home Order issued by Governor Roy Cooper is one example. First, there is a difference between “stay-at-home” and “shelter-in-place” orders. These phrases, undefined by statute, describe their literal effects. A “stay-at-home” order describes the order issued in response to COV…
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Do I Have to Blow?
May 1st, 2020
In general, a driver may refuse to blow into a portable breath test (“PBT”), a test often administered during a traffic stop when determining probable cause to arrest. Refusal to blow into a PBT does not revoke a driver’s license in North Carolina. However, the refusal may be used against a driver by an officer to determine probable cause, in…
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Alimony: Insufficient Evidence to Include Spouse’s Future Bonuses
April 20th, 2020
Do future bonuses count for alimony? It depends. North Carolina family law attorneys must prove bonuses occur “on a consistent basis”; otherwise, case law excludes the same. In Finn v. Finn, the issue was whether the husband, a Wells Fargo executive, was required to pay alimony to his spouse, a former nurse and homemaker, after a twenty…
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Fingerprint Evidence Under Scrutiny in North Carolina Courts
April 13th, 2020
Expert evidence remains a high burden under Rule 702. On April 7, 2020, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held a trial court committed legal error in admitting an expert’s fingerprint testimony for the prosecution.1 In Koiyan, the defendant was indicted for Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon.2 Part of the facts elicited at trial included an expert…
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