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You just got to turn some people off

Chapel Hill is a bit of an island in our state. Commonly accepted views here may not be so commonly accepted in other parts of the state. In fact, I am pretty confident that some of the commonly accepted views in my home of over thirty-five years have not made it to New Bern, my…

What Is The Difference Between Murder, Homicide And Manslaughter?

Homicide is simply the unlawful killing of a human being, and it covers both murder and manslaughter. This includes intentional killing, and under certain circumstances, unintentional killing. Generally speaking, murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice. Sometimes that includes premeditation and deliberation, sometimes it does not. Under certain circumstances,…

What Is Considered To Be A White Collar Crime

White-collar crimes are not a legally recognized category of offenses, but crimes involving allegations of fraud, deceit or theft often carry that label. Many federal offenses are considered white-collar crimes. The name is associated with offenses that often implicate people in a business, a financial institution, or a government entity, as opposed what someone might…

What Are The Defense Strategies Used In Sex Crime Cases?

Sex offenses vary greatly. Defending allegations of possession of child pornography is much different from defending against allegations of inappropriately touching a child. I tailor the defense to the situation. Sometimes, I use forensic experts in computer science, mental health, and social work to review the allegations and evidence. Other times, the defense centers on…

What Are The Common Drug Offenses In North Carolina?

I live in a college community, so I see a lot of lower level drug offenses, like marijuana possession. Many students and other people are charged with simple possession offenses, where the person is accused of possession a quantity of drugs most likely for personal use. While that is a common offense, I represent a…

How Is A Sex Crime Determined To Be A Misdemeanor Or A Felony

Sexual battery is the only misdemeanor sex crime in North Carolina. That does not mean a person accused ofa felony sexual offense will not be convicted of another misdemeanor. All other sexual assaults, or sexualcrimes, are felony offenses and carry very severe penalties. Those penalties include the risk of a prisonsentence and registration as a…

Immigration-Criminal Convictions

Several years ago, Atul Gawande published a book called The Checklist Manifesto. Gawande is a surgeon, public health researcher, and prolific writer. The premise of his book is routines and habits help prevent errors, and checklists encourage compliance with routines and habits. Without written reminders, doctors overlook important steps, just like anyone else. I am…

Inadmissibility Or Ineligibility For Admission to The US

Occasionally, I run into a classmate who surprises me. Some people live up to our expectations, especially the extremely talented or extremely troubled. Others surprise us. A couple years back I reunited with an old friend. Growing up, he was quiet, shy and unlikely to stray far from Eastern North Carolina. I was not surprised…

Use of Deadly Force

Several years ago, I was driving my son home from a basketball practice. We pulled off an exit ramp and passed a couple women attempting to change a tire. Something struck me, and I pulled over to help. My preteen son’s response: “what are you doing? don’t you know how it ends?” Now, I’m no…

Sometimes being kind beats being right

A mentor of sorts told me the story of his relationship with his brother. They were close in age and fierce rivals while growing up. They competed at everything. They were not violent, but argued every point. Neither gave ground to the other in making their cases. It continued throughout their childhoods until my mentor…

Maybe it just makes the story better

Richard Riggsbee was a lawyer in Durham, and a character. For many years, he practiced with Bill Cotter, who is still a character. Bill is from Boston, a Vietnam Veteran, and a graduate of Duke Law School. Richard was from Hillsborough, a graduate of Hillsborough High School, and a former assistant clerk of court. In…

Can I keep the Booker Prize?

My friend Steve Freedman is a wonderful lawyer. For more than forty years, he worked as a public defender. Steve retired recently from working as an assistant capital defender in North Carolina. As a young lawyer, Steve was assigned a felony marijuana case. His client was a well-dressed, nice looking young man. Like most people,…

Will we learn everything from the Tweet?

About twenty years ago, a local Sheriff’s department intercepted a large load of marijuana. Originally, the Sheriff’s deputies got great publicity for their good work: photos before bales of marijuana and reports of the street value redirected. Eventually, everyone wondered what would happen to the marijuana. Well, about 4000 pounds went missing from an Army…

Suggested amendments to Principle 1

Several years ago, a famous, extraordinarily successful trial lawyer sent me a book called How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Over the years, I taught trial advocacy at courses the lawyer organized. He drew the students; ordinary lawyers like me helped teach them. In his letter accompanying the book, the lawyer’s…

How Is A Sex Crime Defined In North Carolina?

There are different types of sex crimes. The lowest level is called Sexual Battery, which is a misdemeanor. Sexual battery is unwanted sexual conduct. It does not have to include genital penetration. In fact, sexual battery arises most often when someone touches another person in a way that does not constitute a sexual offense, like…

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