Shawn Patrick Ellis created quite a kerfuffle in more ways than one. His defiant middle finger and later refusal to identify himself to law enforcement resulted in a Superior Court criminal conviction for Resisting Officers. On a day focused on NC court closures, continuances, and the Coronavirus, Justice Robin Hudson…
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…
Time Out! What is Probable Cause for NC DWI Cases? If you’ve been in District Court in North Carolina, most likely you’ve heard mention of two relatively recent cases that the Courts have been bantering about. “Have you heard about Townsend? That’s it, there is no such thing as PC…
By Driving a Car in North Carolina, Do You Consent to a Sniff Search? Is a Sniff even a Search? Does the law differ between Vehicles and Persons? Caselaw Summary For North Carolina v. Warren North Carolina Court of Appeals – Publication Date August 4, 2015 Divided…
“Probable cause for an arrest has been defined to be a reasonable ground of suspicion supported by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty…. To establish probable cause the evidence need not amount to proof of guilt, or even to…
Modified Transcript of “Reasonable Suspicion To Stop” for Hearing Impaired: . . .By a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the person seized is engaged in criminal activity. Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 440 (1980). Any time I’m analyzing a DUI defense I generally break my assessment into four…