North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

  In order to avoid the death penalty, defendant pled guilty to second-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery; however, when the state dismissed charges against the actual shooter, defendant sought to withdraw his guilty plea. Where (1) ...

  Where (1) the respondent father was not incarcerated until almost 12 months after he entered into his case plan and more than 12 months since he last visited his daughter, “Julie”; (2) respondent has an extensive criminal history, with ...

  When a custody action is between two parents, G.S. § 50-13.5(i) allows the trial court to deny visitation either if the parent being denied visitation is an unfit person to visit the child or if such visitation would not ...

  The defendant-hospital’s action—dismissing its counterclaim against the plaintiff-patient and binding itself not to seek payment from him—does not moot plaintiff’s class action on behalf of uninsured patients who were charged pursuant to the hospital’s “Chargemaster” rates. The relation back ...

  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motions for appropriate relief under the Racial Justice Act (RJA) and the amended RJA after the General Assembly repealed the RJA.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 ...

  When the General Assembly repealed the Racial Justice Act, it violated the Ex Post Facto Clauses of our federal and state constitutions by making the range or measure of punishments for first-degree murder more severe.  We reverse the superior ...

  Defendant’s convictions for felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury (felony assault) and misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury (misdemeanor assault)—which led to sentences for felony assault and habitual misdemeanor assault—stemmed from the same incident. Since G.S. § 14-33, which defines ...

Even though respondent’s child, “Laurie,” was the subject of a valid Delaware child custody order when the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services filed a neglect and dependency petition, since (1) neither Laurie nor either of her parents lived in ...

  Despite the children’s behavioral issues and the fact that older children are less likely to be adopted, the evidence supports the trial court’s finding that respondents’ sons are likely to be adopted. We affirm the termination of respondents’ parental ...

  Defendant presented evidence that he had never engaged in illicit sexual activity with an underage child, that he mentioned sex only while he believed he was communicating with an adult, and that he eventually relented to requests for sex ...