Category: Criminal Defense
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire: Durham Officer Lies His Way Into a Woman’s Home The Durham Police Department made the news this month after it came to light that at least one officer, and possibly several others, had lied about receiving 911 hang-up calls from target homes in order to…
Another Innocent Man Suffering Because of the Misdeeds of Prosecutors Another person wrongly convicted of a crime looks to be getting their chance to set the record straight. Darryl Howard, originally of Durham, had two 2nd degree homicide verdicts against him vacated in May of this year by Superior Court Judge…
In a recent landmark decision of Riley v. California, sthe U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that personal cell phone searches are beyond the reach of law enforcement without a warrant. The ruling has been hailed as a major victory by privacy rights advocates and those of us at Kurtz & Blum,…
Lack of Funding for the SBI Crime Lab is Morally Bankrupt The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is tasked with assisting local law enforcement agencies with investigation of difficult cases. Although the SBI has jurisdiction throughout the State, it generally only gets involved with cases at the request…
North Carolina took its first step in the movement toward recognizing the potential health benefits of marijuana by passing a proposal in June to legalize the use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil for treating epilepsy. The Governor signed the bill into law in early July, allowing families with members suffering from…
As the Wake County school district places an ever-increasing importance on having school resource officers or SROs (i.e., police officers) in the districts high school and middle schools, advocates are alarmed by what they see in schools where police presence has intensified. The concern is that criminal charges are being…
Is the N.C. General Assembly’s Attempt to Regulate Mug Shot Websites Just a Shot in the Dark? Contrary to what some people may believe, just because someone is charged with a criminal offense, it does not necessarily follow that they will be arrested for violating the law. In the case of minor misdemeanors,…
Former Charlotte mayor Patrick Cannon plans to plead guilty to corruption charges, according to court records. WRAL has this report: “Court records show that a plea agreement in the case was filed on May 12 but remains under seal. A bill of information, which prosecutors often file in lieu of…
Approval for Medical Cannabis is Growing Like a Weed In what some are calling a historic move, the United States House of Representatives voted earlier this month to no longer enforce federal marijuana laws in states which allow the use of the substance for medical reasons. 21 states and the…
Why North Carolina Needs to Do More About the SBI Crime Lab The North Carolina House of Representatives voted to change the position of a state law enforcement agency within the bureaucracy. The plan under consideration would move control of the State Bureau of Investigation from the Department of Justice…
