North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

The language of law is rich and varied. Anyone who goes to law school learns a whole new vocabulary. And words, especially in statutes, are open to different meanings and interpretations. But are they open to different pronunciations? Not so ...

Tagged with: Oyez

Say what you will about James and Diane Wind, they’re not chicken-hearted. Rather, the Carolina Beach couple had their hearts set on raising chickens in their backyard. And for nearly a year, that’s exactly what they did. Each morning, the ...

Tagged with: chicken coop

If you’re going into the business of preparing tax returns for clients, the No. 1 rule is probably that you shouldn’t start churning out bogus tax returns for them. And you definitely shouldn’t call attention to your business by setting ...

Tagged with: taxes

Just weeks ago, when a Wilmington jailbird took flight, this Sidebar reporter made a comment to his coworkers wondering why prison inmates bother to escape. “They are always captured,” I wrote on the real-time messaging service our company uses so ...

Tagged with: Social Media

In his mugshot, 23-year-old Paul Simmons Jr. of North Carolina looks reasonably intimidating, to the extent that one can be intimidated by a photograph. This is a good thing for “PJ,” as prison records list him, since he is headed ...

Tagged with: poaching Theft

So much for being courteous and civil to opposing counsel. According to multiple media reports, things got a toad, er, a tad ugly between two Texas lawyers who are facing off against each other in multiple lawsuits. Texas Lawyer was ...

Tagged with: Texas

If Sidebar ever rises high in politics, no one will be more surprised than his law school classmates. But at least they’ll be in fine company. Two North Carolina attorneys who collected their JDs alongside Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim ...

Tagged with: Tim Kaine

A developer who wants to pave over a pet cemetery in New Hanover County has one foot in the grave, legally speaking, after losing a significant battle ahead of an upcoming trial. Last year, Ricky Coates raised eyebrows and triggered ...

Tagged with: pet cemetery

Something strange is happening at dollar stores in North Carolina. Earlier this month, state health authorities closed a Dollar Tree in Wilson because it was infested with rats, according to a report from the local Fox affiliate. “Two signs were ...

Tagged with: rats

Much to the defendant’s chagrin but in a relatively straightforward application of the law, the state Court of Appeals held recently in North Carolina v. Rico Barnes that being handcuffed on your cousin’s porch while probation agents search the home ...

Tagged with: miranda