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Recent Articles from North Carolina Staff Reporter
Domestic Relations – Constitutional – Due Process – Personal Jurisdiction – Status Exception – Termination of Parental Rights – First Impression
North Carolina’s courts can terminate the parental rights of a parent who lacks minimum contacts with the state, pursuant to the status exception to the minimum contacts requirement for personal jurisdiction in termination of parental rights proceedings. We affirm the trial court’s denial of the respondent-father’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. […]
Criminal Practice – Racial Justice Act – Repeal – Constitutional – Ex Post Facto Law
The trial court dismissed defendant’s motions for appropriate relief under the Racial Justice Act (RJA) and the amended RJA after the General Assembly repealed the RJA. For the reasons stated in State v. Ramseur (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-071-20), the repeal of the RJA was unconstitutional as applied to defendant and others similarly situated. Further, […]
Pitt County forms COVID-19 court committee
Just as the North Carolina Judicial Branch has formed a COVID-19 Task Force to make recommendations as the state courts resume full operations statewide, Pitt County court officials have formed the county’s own Courthouse Advisory Committee. The committee met for the first time on May 14 via Webex and will provide recommendations to courthouse decision-makers […]
Tort/Negligence – Landlord/Tenant – Dog Bite – Prior Incident – Notice
Plaintiffs have failed to show that the defendant-landlord had notice that his tenants’ dog was dangerous before the dog bit the minor plaintiff. A pro se defendant-tenant’s unsworn answer to an ambiguous request for admission was not sufficient to carry plaintiffs’ burden of forecasting a prima facie case of negligence and strict liability. We […]
Lawyers in the News – March 30
Smith Anderson in Raleigh announced the addition of 12 new attorneys in 2019, 11 of whom are associates in the early stages of their careers. Jenny Bobbitt focuses her practice on employment law; Ashton Carpenter, David Ortiz and Ed Roche counsel clients on commercial litigation matters and complex contract disputes; Victor Demarco, Alice Dias and […]
Criminal – Police had probable cause to issue warrants
Where a defendant’s “gross driver error” resulted in a fatal crash, an odor of alcohol was coming from his car and he was combative with first responders, there was probable cause to take blood for a toxicology analysis or, at a minimum, the facts provided a good faith basis for officers to believe they had […]
Criminal – Prior convictions warranted sentence enhancements
Where the defendant’s prior conviction for robbery under Maryland law qualified as a predicate violent felony and his prior Maryland conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute constituted a “controlled substance offense” under the Sentencing Guidelines, the court erred in declining to apply two sentence enhancements. Background A jury found Martin […[...]
Constitutional – Maryland ad disclosure law violates First Amendment
Where a Maryland law requires newspapers and other media platforms to publish certain information about the political ads they carry and retain that information for inspection, the law violates the First Amendment under either strict or exacting scrutiny. Background A Maryland law requires newspapers, among other platforms, to publish on their websites, as well as […]
4th Circuit seeks comments on deportation stay rule
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is seeking comments on a new standing order providing added time for review of a motion to freeze action in an immigration removal or deportation case. The standing order provides for entry of an administrative stay of removal for a period of 14 days upon the filing of […]
Consumer Protection Law firm’s attempt to collect debts did not violate FDCPA
Where a law firm representing a homeowners association attempted to collect outstanding debts from homeowners by filing a writ of garnishment and lien that included post-judgment enforcement costs, it did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Background Homeowners Suzette Archie and Om Sharma commenced this suit in response to attempts by Nagle & […]
Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Willful Abandonment – Incarceration – First Impression
Even though the respondent-father was incarcerated for part of the six months preceding the maternal grandparents’ filing of the petition to terminate his parental rights, (1) respondent failed to take advantage of free methods of contacting his daughter “Catherine” while he was incarcerated and (2) while he was out on bond, he was earning […]
Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Assistance of Counsel – Structural Error – Standard of Proof – Choice of Counsel vs. Absolute Impasse
Although defendant expressed doubts about the competency of his appointed counsel, since he informed the trial court that he wished to hire private counsel, the trial court should have applied the choice-of-counsel standard rather than the absolute-impasse standard in determining whether defendant would be allowed to hire substitute counsel. We vacate defendant’s convictions and remand […[...]
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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
