North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Although the developer of a very hilly subdivision did not have a duty to inspect or monitor the construction site or to take precautions against negligent construction work, plaintiffs may be able to show that the developer had a ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence Wrongful Death – Real Property – Developers – Hilly Terrain
Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Double Jeopardy – Prosecutorial Vindictiveness – Statutory Joinder – First Impression 
This is the third time that the same district attorney has attempted to try defendant for crimes based on an incident in which defendant allegedly brutally assaulted his wife. Each time, defendant has been charged with offenses carrying significantly ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – DWI – Search & Seizure – Blood Draw Warrant – Reasonable Force
After defendant was arrested for driving while impaired and refused to provide a breath sample, police obtained a warrant for a sample of his blood. Where defendant resisted hospital personnel’s attempts to draw his blood, police officers were justified ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – DWI – Invited Error – Trooper’s Testimony – Accident Reconstruction
Where (1) on direct examination, State Trooper Gibbs mentioned that he had taken measurements at the scene of the accident in which a car struck defendant’s moped; (2) on cross-examination of the trooper, defense counsel elicited more details about ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Financial Card Fraud – Signing Defendant’s Own Name – Constitutional – Assistance of Counsel – Evidence – Contradictory Statements
Defendant signed her own name when she used the victims’ credit cards; however, the state was not required to show that defendant engaged in a financial card transaction literally “in the other person’s name.” Therefore, defense counsel’s failure to ...
Read More »Civil Practice – Discovery Sanctions – Rule 59 – Judge’s Retirement – Appeals – Unfair Trade Practices
Where the judge who entered a sanctions order retired before defendants’ motion for reconsideration could be heard, the presiding judge should have dismissed defendants’ N.C. R. Civ. P. 59 motion. This court considers the Rule 59 motion de novo. ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Attempted Armed Robbery – BB Gun – Jury Instructions – Lesser Included Offense
At defendant’s trial for attempted armed robbery of a convenience store, a prosecution witness testified that defendant admitted to trying to rob the store but claimed that the “gun” was actually a BB gun painted black. Because of this ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Jury Instructions – Unpreserved Challenge – Solicitation to Murder
Defendant challenges the sentence the trial court imposed upon his conviction of solicitation to commit murder because (1) the jury was not instructed to make any special finding about the nature of the malice supporting its finding that defendant solicited ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Reasonable Suspicion – Traffic Stop – Raised Hands – Prior Convictions
A police officer stopped defendant’s car because its tags were registered to a different vehicle. Since (1) the stop occurred late at night (2) in a high-crime area, (3) defendant exhibited a hand gesture (raising his hands out his ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Counterfeit Drugs – Consensual Weapons Pat-Down – Immediate Recognition
Defendant acted nervous and shifty when approached by law enforcement officers, and, during a valid consensual pat-down, a police captain felt objects in defendant’s pocket that he knew from experience were consistent with corner bags, the most common means ...
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