Union County law enforcement officials report the recent seizure of 4 kilos of cocaine and $9,000 in cash, resulting in drug trafficking charges. While most people understand drug charges in North Carolina can carry serious consequences, an arrest and indictment for “trafficking” may come as a surprise. Unlike other felony…
Hearsay, Tips, and Confidential Informant Evidence in trafficking charges in North Carolina can be the basis for the issuance of a search warrant and further investigation into alleged criminal activity. Courts, prosecutors, and Charlotte criminal lawyers alike carefully review such materials, as may be made part of a Motion for…
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA No. COA18-1016 Filed: 1 October 2019 Cabarrus County, Nos. 15CRS001292, -1293 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, v. CAROLYN D. “BONNIE” SIDES, Defendant. Appeal by Defendant from judgments entered 11 November 2017 by Judge Beecher R. Gray in Cabarrus County Superior Court. Heard in…
Sitting, waiting for an 8:30 a.m. DMV Hearing, at an all-but-empty Huntersville Department of Transportation license and tag office, is a bit unusual. It’s part of what I do as a defense attorney; but, that doesn’t make it any less surreal or interesting. The early morning hours, sometime between 7:30…
Criminal Charges in College – Campus Police While sitting at Gate C3 at the Nashville airport yesterday, I received back-to-back panicked calls from mothers of, let’s say, University of Anytown students. I was returning home to Charlotte after touring a prospective college with my teen-aged daughter. As a criminal defense…
Criminal Code Reform Who makes the criminal laws in North Carolina? Is it the General Assembly through the NC General Statutes or local municipalities through Criminal Code Violations? The answer presently is, “both.” That may be about to change, albeit at a glacier-like pace. It seems “Criminal Law Reform,” as…
They say difficulties come in threes. I don’t know if I necessarily subscribe to that proverb, especially as it may relate to the life of a Charlotte lawyer. It’s not that “stuff” doesn’t happen. It’s just that it happens all the time, one thing after another. My days in court…
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA No. COA18-817 Filed: 20 August 2019 Stanly County, No. 17CRS700160 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. SHAWN PATRICK ELLIS, Defendant. Appeal by Defendant from judgment entered 13 March 2018 by Judge Karen Eady-Williams in Stanly County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of…
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA No. COA17-477-2 Filed: 20 August 2019 Mecklenburg County, Nos. 15 CRS 212911-13 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. JERRY GIOVANI THOMPSON Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 3 January 2017 by Judge William R. Bell in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. Originally heard in…
Search Warrants are subject to Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Without “probable cause,” a search is ordinarily deemed “unreasonable” and therefore improper. As is the case with many legal issues involving criminal charges, there are certain exceptions. Searches of a home or residence invite additional scrutiny by…