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Recent Articles from Heath Hamacher
Non-fatal drowning settles for $4.1M
A woman who suffered permanent, debilitating brain injuries after a non-fatal drowning has settled her negligence claim for $4.1 million, her attorneys report. The plaintiff was represented by Amanda Mingo and Katie Clary of Rawls, Scheer, Clary & Mingo in Charlotte. The attorneys said that the woman “suddenly and explicably” slipped underwater and sank to […]
Advocacy center names new CEO
Former Mecklenburg County public defender Toussaint Romain has been named the new CEO for the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, an agency that provides legal representation to those who are unable to afford it. Romain, the center’s first leader of color, most recently served as the deputy general counsel for Appalachian State University. He has […]
Decorum in doubt : Facebook messages, contributions raise questions of impropriety
Judges and justices of North Carolina’s courts are sworn to be independent of partisan politics and to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Some are saying state Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. is doing neither. In recent social media messages—apparent private Facebook messages […]
Advocacy center names new CEO
Former Mecklenburg County public defender Toussaint Romain has been named the new CEO for the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, an agency that provides legal representation to those who are unable to afford it. Romain, the center’s first leader of color, most recently served as the deputy general counsel for Appalachian State University. He […]
Right to remain silent for Industrial Commission
A full North Carolina Industrial Commission may reconsider evidence before the deputy commissioner, receive additional evidence and amend the deputy commissioner’s award where it finds “good ground” to do so, the state’s Court of Appeals has held in a case of first impression. In this matter, the full commission overturned the deputy commissioner’s award […]
COA: Extortion charge need not name alleged victim
A charging document in a juvenile action for extortion need not specifically identify the alleged victim for a trial court to have jurisdiction, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled in a matter of first impression. In its April 19 opinion, the appeals court unanimously held that a petition that “clearly apprised [the juvenile] […]
‘Aggressor’ charge was reversible error
A woman serving 19 years in prison for killing her paramour inside her bedroom will get a new trial after the North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously determined that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the aggressor doctrine. The aggressor doctrine denies an individual the benefit of a self-defense claim where the […]
Extortion doesn’t require ‘true threat’ analysis
A “sugar baby” who threatened to include a Charlotte man in a racy memoir of their adulterous dating service trysts unless he paid her significant hush money wasn’t entitled to a “true threat” analysis before she was convicted of extortion, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in a matter of first impression. […]
Pass rates dip for first in-person bar exam since COVID
Results are in from February’s bar exam, and the state’s first in-person exam since the summer of 2020 saw 175 law graduates pass the exam, out of 348 who sat for it, for a pass rate of 50.3 percent. The latest results continue a trend of fluctuating fortunes for the February exam. North Carolina began […]
Wake, UNC rise in law school rankings, Duke falls
Two North Carolina law schools made modest jumps in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Law School rankings, which were announced on March 29. After taking a significant drop several years ago, Wake Forest has been steadily climbing its way back up the rankings. This year it made the biggest move of all […]
Guilty plea doesn’t bar post-conviction DNA testing
Defendants who’ve pleaded guilty of a crime are entitled to post-conviction DNA testing if they’ve shown that the results could be material to their case, the North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in a case of first impression. The March 11 opinion affirms a 2020 Court of Appeals ruling in State v. Alexander, in which […]
Habitual felon sentence didn’t transform underlying crimes
A habitual felon sentencing enhancement doesn’t reclassify underlying felonies to higher-level felonies, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in a case of first impression, finding that a trial court erroneously applied a further sentencing enhancement for serious sexual offenders to a man whose sentence for a low-level felony was enhanced because he […]
Top Legal News
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- Mississippi activists ask to join water lawsuit
- State judge blocks gender-affirming care ban
- Menendez pleads not guilty in wide-ranging corruption case
- Lawyer in Trump-Russia probe confirmed for Connecticut high court
- Commercial vehicle crash claims life of wife, mother: $3.99 million settlement
Commentary
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
- Case study: North Carolina courts provide guidance on scope, limitations of attorney-client privilege
- A Different Ode to Pro Bono Work
- A roadmap to attracting, developing, retaining great associates
