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Drive a bit over the limit? North Carolina says that’s too fast
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina are cracking down on speeders with a simple message: Obey the posted speed limit or pay a fine, even if you’re only going a bit over. The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program says in a news release it will announce its “Obey the Sign or Pay the […]
Judge says flashing headlights is free speech
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Hauling a truckload of logs to a Southern Oregon mill last fall, Chris Hill noticed a sheriff’s deputy behind him and flashed his lights to warn a UPS driver coming the other way. The deputy pulled over Hill on U.S. Highway 140 in White City and handed him a $260 […]
Digest of recent traffic-law related opinions
Courts: U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit; North Carolina Court of Appeals; and North Carolina Supreme Court State v. Dahlquist (Lawyers Weekly No. 13-07-1187, 12 pp.) Dec. 3, 2013 Holding: The court held that when considering the totality of the circumstances – including the distance from and time needed to travel to the Mecklenburg County Intake Center and the […]
Small swerve looms large among traffic lawyers
A state trooper had reasonable suspicion to pull over a driver for impaired driving where he observed her weaving, but only within her own lane for three-quarters of a mile, according to the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Complaining about search not enough to revoke consent
A defendant’s complaint that police officers were damaging the trunk of his vehicle did not constitute a revocation of his voluntary consent to the search, the N.C. Court of Appeals has ruled.
Scribner’s Error: Pushing the limits of reasonableness and prudence
"Reasonable and prudent." That was the daytime speed limit in Montana for a breezy four years after Congress in 1995 lifted its draconian, federally mandated limits, which first imposed the pokey "double-nickel" 55-mph limit that was later softened to 65. Does that mean that there was an American Autobahn in Big Sky Country in the late '90s? Not exactly.
Allegations leveled against driving school
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into alleged improprieties at the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina, a nonprofit organization that offers defensive driving courses in 54 counties in the state. The investigation in Mecklenburg County was confirmed by an attorney who represents a former employee of the driving school who was terminated in September. The employee's name is Cath[...]
Trial & Error: That ‘fool for a client’ axiom? All true
Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. That's Latin for I screwed up big-time. I was so sure I was on solid ground back in July when I wrote a column taking on those guys who solicit business from people who've gotten traffic tickets. You know, the traffic-ticket firms who get lists of folks who have committed some minor infraction and then send them letters that seemed designed to scare the bejeezus out of[...]
I hope you can see me
Hopefully as you read this I am not peeling myself off the pavement of some Charlotte intersection. I think I am a glutton for punishment because I enjoy long-distance running. Charlotte is not the most fitting place to try to run. Apparently it’s not the greatest place to cycle either. The Charlotte Observer ran a […]
Letter to the Editor, Aug. 30, 2010
As a criminal defense lawyer in Mecklenburg County, I share Judge Smith’s and Alan Brotherton’s concerns about the “driving school” as it is currently administered in this jurisdiction. [See story in the Aug. 23, 2010, issue of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.] I have talked to many clients over the years who have been given advice, […]
Investigation into Mecklenburg PJC arrangement begins
Officials in Mecklenburg County are exploring the legality and appropriateness of the relationship among the district attorney's office, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the local courts and the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina, a nonprofit organization that offers defensive-driving courses to ticketed motorists. Mecklenburg County Chief District Court Judge Lisa Bell (pictu[...]
District court judge inquires about propriety of driving school
A district court judge has written to the state attorney general and N.C. State Bar counsel about his concerns over the relationship among the district attorney's office, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the local courts and the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina - a nonprofit organization that offers defensive-driving courses to ticketed motorists. Former Mecklenburg County a[...]
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