Newspapers tout win over public notice bill
By The Associated Press
Published: May 20,2013
The North Carolina Press Association is claiming victory in a battle to maintain government notices in newspapers, but the war isn't yet over.
Law enforcement backs AG in opposing SBI move
By The Associated Press
Published: May 20,2013
North Carolina's Democratic attorney general is opposing a state Senate budget provision that moves much of an investigative unit from his department to one headed by an appointee of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.
Mixed signals on domestic drone use
By The Associated Press
Published: May 17,2013
The growing use of unmanned surveillance "eyes in the sky" aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it.
Wind farm bill among five signed into law
By The Associated Press
Published: May 17,2013
Gov. Pat McCrory says a new law laying out rules for building wind farms in North Carolina will help create a diverse supply of energy for the state and boost the economy.
Small-fry financing gets no toehold in North Carolina 
By David Donovan
Published: May 17,2013
The wheels of justice grind slowly, but medical bills and missed paychecks add up fast. In many states, plaintiffs waiting for a recovery can get an advance against their potential payout to help keep up with living expenses, but lenders have largely been kept out of North Carolina by a 2008 court ruling that legal finance is subject to the state’s cap on interest rates.
Try these strategies for reacting to a rude opponent
By Nancy Crotti
Published: May 17,2013
Jerks: Everyone’s encountered a few in their lives. In the courtroom or out, they can make you forget all those manners you learned growing up, triggering reactions you might later regret. The problem is sufficiently widespread that the American Board of Trial Advocates addresses it in its “Civility Matters” continuing legal education classes to prepare students for how to comport themselves.
Forensic technology better, but experts hold less sway
By Amy Stevens
Published: May 17,2013
When introduced in court, evidence is typically seen as black and white, the inarguable facts of a criminal case. But as science has advanced over the last 25 years, attorneys have begun to focus more on the gray areas of forensic evidence.
Just desserts
By Phillip Bantz
Published: May 17,2013
Here’s a little story of comeuppance for anyone out there who has ever been harassed by a debt collector. The collection agency in this case, Green Tree Servicing, seems to have worked itself into a legal pickle by repeatedly hounding a couple, Timothy and Colleen Redmond, to pay their landlord’s debt. That’s right: The Redmonds [...]
You know what they say about laws and sausages
By David Donovan
Published: May 17,2013
As Lawyers Weekly went to press, the General Assembly was counting down the final hours of crossover day, the moment by which bills that don’t raise or spend money have to clear one chamber of the legislature or else they’re dead for the year. (However, they can still come back to life attached to surviving [...]
Bad excuse better than no excuse
By Amy Stevens
Published: May 17,2013
“My client made me do it.” Let’s agree that’s not the best way to impress a court when you’ve violated the law and flirted with crossing the line of ethical appropriateness. When Asheville attorney Eugene W. Ellison’s client was injured in a car accident, she received $70,000 from the State Health Plan. Ellison informed client [...]
NC Lawyers Weekly keeps you connected with the latest legal news, Daily Practice and Breaking
News alerts.
Sign up for NC Lawyers Weekly email alerts
Recent NC Court Opinions
- Criminal Practice – Right to Remain Silent – State’s Evidence – Right to Plead Not Guilty
State v. Bean Although the state elicited evidence that defendant exercised her right to remain silent, given the other evidence of defendant’s guilt – her own admissions to a nurse, “I killed my husband just because I finally had enough of him” and “I’m guilty” and the victim’s fear that defendant would kill him – the prosecutor’s comments and questions regarding whether defendant mentioned self-defense prior to trial had little bearing on the jury finding defendant guilty.
- Criminal Practice – Attempted Larceny – Completed Offense – Jury Instructions – Injury to Personal Property
State v. Primus Even though the list of the elements of attempted felonious larceny set out in State v. Weaver, 123 N.C. App. 276, 473 S.E.2d 362 (1996), included “falling short of the completed offense,” and even though the state proved that defendant completed the offense of felonious larceny, this does not require the conclusion that proof of the completed offense disproves the attempt to commit. The completed commission of a crime must of necessity include an attempt to commit the crime.
- Criminal Practice – Murder – Evidence – Eyewitness – Lesser Included Offense
State v. Ingram though one of the eyewitnesses was only 10 years old at the time of the shooting, the credibility of the witness’s identification of defendant was a question for the jury.
