North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

  During deliberations, the jury asked the trial court if it had “to be unanimous on each of the charges” and listed the charged assault offense—assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury—and its lesser included ...

  Defendant challenges the relevance of his parole officer’s testimony indicating that defendant was a “high risk offender” and mentioning the discovery of drugs in the room where defendant was found. Such testimony was relevant as “chain of circumstances” evidence. ...

Plaintiffs allege that they have developed “SEM Strategies”: internet strategies and techniques to optimize the ranking of their websites on internet search results. While defendants appear to argue that all online retailers use the same approach to search engine optimization, ...

  In support of his self-defense argument, defendant sought to introduce expert testimony that the victim’s aggressive and strange behavior was “consistent with methamphetamine intoxication.” However, the proffered witness had never examined the victim and agreed that if you “had ...

Where the police had a reasonable belief that the plaintiff posed a danger to herself and others, they were entitled to qualified immunity against claims arising from her detention for a mental health evaluation. Background Kerrin Barrett brought this action ...

Although regulations prohibit “commercial vehicles” from driving on the George Washington Parkway unless authorized by permit, the mere fact the defendant was driving a commercial vehicle on the parkway did not provide a basis to stop his vehicle. The marijuana ...

After the defendant was sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed when he was 17, the Supreme Court held that, when sentencing a minor to life without parole, the court must consider the defendant’s “youth and attendant characteristics.” Because ...

A rule promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services, prohibiting physicians and other providers in Title X programs from referring patients for an abortion and imposing other requirements on entities receiving Title X funds, was enjoined. HHS inadequately ...

Where defendants’ compromise statements were erroneously admitted to prove the validity of the plaintiff’s claim for a commission on the sale of industrial property, and the error was not harmless, the defendants were entitled to a new trial. Background A ...

Because there were good reasons why defense counsel for a man on trial for beating, shooting and robbing a prostitute decided to not test certain items for DNA, including the risk of undermining the trial strategy, the habeas court’s rejection ...