North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Even if an expert witness favored defendants in black lung cases, violated applicable standards, and misled coal miners and the Black Lung Benefits Act tribunals, that witness – like other witnesses – is entitled to absolute immunity from plaintiffs’ RICO ...
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Civil Practice – Privilege protects allegedly biased expert
Constitutional – Gag order does not withstand constitutional scrutiny 
A gag order imposed by the district court overseeing suits against the owners of hog farms breached basic First Amendment principles. Background Hundreds of plaintiffs have alleged that nearby hog farms associated with Murphy-Brown LLC are a private nuisance. Plaintiffs ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Resisting a Law Enforcement Officer – DMV Inspector – Power to Arrest – First Impression – Trespass
At the office where a DMV inspector worked, he had the authority to arrest defendant after she caused a disturbance and refused to leave the premises. We find no error in defendant’s convictions of resisting a law enforcement officer and ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Robbery Plunder – Girlfriend’s Cooperation – Identification Procedures – Neck Tattoos
In response to a domestic violence call, police officers kept defendant outside his house while his girlfriend was questioned inside the house. During this questioning, the girlfriend not only confirmed a 911 caller’s report of domestic violence, but she also ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Prior Record Level – Drug Paraphernalia Possession – Marijuana & Other Drugs
The only evidence of defendant’s prior record level was a certified copy of his DCI Computerized Criminal History Report, but the DCI report merely lists defendant’s 2012 conviction for drug paraphernalia possession without shedding light on whether the paraphernalia charge ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Extended Traffic Stop – Search Incident to Arrest
Police Corporal J.B. Keltner stopped defendant for running a red light. Even if – after defendant performed roadside sobriety tests satisfactorily – Cpl. Keltner lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the traffic stop, since Cpl. Keltner had (1) observed an open ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Confrontation Right – Double Jeopardy – Acting in Concert
Where a now-deceased witness’s statements to a police officer were made in an effort to assist in the apprehension of armed suspects, the statements were not testimonial. Therefore, their admission did not violate defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause of ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Right to Jury Trial – Prosecutor’s Remarks – Overwhelming Evidence
Counsel is admonished for minimalizing and referring to defendant’s exercise of his right to a jury trial in a condescending manner; nevertheless, the evidence of defendant’s guilt was overwhelming: Police seized cocaine from Jamie Yarborough. Yarborough identified defendant as his ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – False Pretenses – Single Taking Rule – Disputed Checks – One Affidavit
Even though defendant disputed three different checks that had been charged against his bank account, since he did so in a single affidavit, the single taking rule prevents him from being convicted on multiple counts of obtaining property by ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Indictment – ‘Embezzle’ – Fraudulent Intent – Post-Arrest Silence – Jury Instructions – Plain Error Review
The concept of fraudulent intent is already contained within the ordinary meaning of the term “embezzle”; therefore, an indictment sufficiently alleged fraudulent intent when it alleged that defendant “did embezzle” $3,957.81 from her employer. We find no prejudicial error in ...
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