08 Monday Nov 2010
Edwardo Wong has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the shooting of State Trooper Shawn Blanton. The jury deadlocked after several days of deliberation.
via BREAKING NEWS: Edwardo Wong Sentenced to Life « DeathWatch North Carolina.
28 Thursday Oct 2010
Tags
Amazon, American Civil Liberties Union, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Marsha J. Pechman, Marsha Pechman, North Carolina, Online shopping, taxes
Image by Luke Redmond via Flickr
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that the First Amendment protects a buyer from the government demanding to know the books, music and audiovisual products they’ve bought.
Amazon and the American Civil Liberties Union, which later joined the case, “have established that the First Amendment protects the disclosure of individual’s reading, listening, and viewing habits,” Pechman wrote.
The North Carolina Department of Revenue requires N.C. residents to pay sales tax on all purchases even those purchases made on the internet. This year residents will see a line on their tax return to report any online purchases and pay taxes on those items. N.C. claims that Amazon owes more than $50 million in taxes. However, since Amazon does not have a local N.C. presence, N.C. cannot force Amazon to collect taxes.
via http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/10/26/article/judge_free_speech_protects_amazon_buyers_data
Related Articles
26 Tuesday Oct 2010
Posted in NC Court of Appeals, NC Law, News
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The Observer announced it is endorsing Judge James (Jim) Wynn, Sam Ervin, Doug McCullough, Linda Stephens, John Arrowood,
via We recommend four for Court of Appeals – CharlotteObserver.com.
21 Thursday Oct 2010
Posted in Criminal, NC Court of Appeals, NC Law
Tags
5th Amendment, Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Miranda warning, Parent, Police officer
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The Court in a well reasoned opinion, held that a juvenile in the a school setting who is questioned by the principal in the presence of a police officer is in custody for the purposes of the 5th Amendment and therefore, entitled to the appropriate Miranda warnings.
In order to protect the 5th Amendment rights against self incrimination, suspects including juveniles are entitled to Miranda warnings prior to police interrogation.
The N.C. Juvenile code provides additional protections for juveniles who are in custody. Prior to questioning the juvenile must be told that he has the right to remain silent, that any statement can and may be used against him, that he has the right to have a parent present during custody, and that he has a right to have an attorney to consult with and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to him.
Additional protections apply to juveniles 14 years of age and under. When the juvenile is less than 14 years of age, no in‑custody admission or confession resulting from interrogation may be admitted into evidence unless the confession or admission was made in the presence of the juvenile’s parent, guardian, custodian, or attorney. If an attorney is not present, the parent, guardian, or custodian as well as the juvenile must be advised of the juvenile’s rights as set out above; however, a parent, guardian, or custodian may not waive any right on behalf of the juvenile.
The Court In re K.D.L, held that custodial interrogation is “questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.” An objective totality of the circumstances test is used to determine whether the suspect has been taken into custody.
The Court reasoned that a juvenile who is questioned throughout the day by the principal for criminal conduct was treated in such a way that a reasonable person in his situation would believe he was functionally under arrest. The Court went on to hold that while the officer did not question the juvenile a reasonable person would believe that the officer was there in concert with the principal and that a failure to answer questions by the principal would lead to criminal charges.
See the entire opinion at
http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2010/pdf/091653-1.pdf
21 Thursday Oct 2010
Posted in News
Tags
Ashley Woolard, Bob Etheridge, Elaine Marshall, Elections, Howard Coble, Michael Beitler, Mike McIntyre, North Carolina, Patrick McHenry, Renee Ellmers, Virginia Foxx
(Date of Primary: May 4, 2010, and only winners are displayed below.)
| Race | All Candidates | Amount Raised |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Richard Burr (R)* |  $9,012,987 |
| Elaine Marshall (D) | $1,110,619 |
|
| Michael Beitler (L) | $3,228 |
|
| District 01 | G. K. Butterfield (D)* | $743,162 |
| Ashley Woolard (R) | $118,269 |
|
| District 02 | Bob Etheridge (D)* | $1,160,061 |
| Renee Ellmers (R) | $452,417 |
|
| Tom Rose (L) | $0 |
|
| District 03 | Walter B. Jones Jr (R)* | $599,131 |
| Johnny Rouse (D) | $7,907 |
|
| Darryl Holloman (L) | $355 |
|
| District 04 | David Price (D)* | $744,566 |
| William T. Lawson, Jr (R) | $372,685 |
|
| District 05 | Virginia Foxx (R)* | $789,390 |
| Billy Kennedy (D) | $260,523 |
|
| District 06 | Howard Coble (R)* | $479,777 |
| Sam Turner (D) | $3,775 |
|
| District 07 | Mike McIntyre (D)* | $985,533 |
| Ilario Gregory Pantano (R) | $792,465 |
|
| District 08 | Larry Kissell (D)* | $954,385 |
| Harold Johnson (R) | $946,269 |
|
| Thomas Hill (L) | $0 |
|
| District 09 | Sue Myrick (R)* | $979,557 |
| Jeffrey James Doctor (D) | $97,930 |
|
| District 10 | Patrick McHenry (R)* | $896,137 |
| Jeff Gregory (D) | $0 |
|
| District 11 | Heath Shuler (D)* | $1,139,147 |
| Jeff Miller (R) | $605,803 |
|
| District 12 | Melvin L. Watt (D)* | $518,051 |
| Lon Vernon Cecil (L) | $10,382 |
|
| Greg Dority (R) | $0 |
|
| District 13 | Brad Miller (D)* | $805,068 |
| Bill Randall (R) | $152,547 |
|
| James Anthony Hardesty (I) | $16,881 |
* Incumbent
Data last updated: 10/21/2010.
Via the Center for Responsive Politics. For more information http://www.opensecrets.org
19 Tuesday Oct 2010
Posted in NC Court of Appeals, NC Law, NC Supreme Court
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In King v. Beaufort County Board of Education, the N.C. Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision, which upheld the trial court’s judgment in favor of the defendant-school board.
The Plaintiff was a sophomore in high school. She was involved a school fight and suspended for 10 days. The principal then recommended she be suspended for the remainder of the school year. She appealed the decision.
The Court held that in NC there is a statutory but not a constitutional right to an alternative education. The Court reviewed the conduct of the school under the intermediate scrutiny standard. Under the state intermediate-scrutiny standard, school administrators must provide an important reason for denying students access to alternative education.
State law requires local boards of education to establish at least one alternative learning program and to create strategies for assigning long-term suspended students to it when feasible and appropriate. G.S. § 115C-47(32a). Since the General Assembly has chosen to grant this statutory right to long-term suspended students, school administrators must provide a reason to the student for excluding the student from an alternative learning program.
In King, the school failed to provide a reason for the denial of an alternative learning program. The Court held that the school must provide a reason for excluding the Plaintiff from an alternative learning program and that a failure to do so does violate the Plaintiff’s constitutional rights.
15 Friday Oct 2010
Posted in NC Court of Appeals, NC Law, NC Supreme Court, News
Tags
Ann Marie Calabria, Elections, Martha Geer, NC Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, Richard Burr, Rick Elmore, Robert C. Hunter, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
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Election Day Info
United States Senate
Senator Richard Burr (Rep) http://burrforsenate.com/
Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (Dem) http://www.elainemarshall.org/
Michael Beitler (Lib) http://www.beitlerforussenate.org/
Justice Brady’s Seat
Judge Barbara Jackson. http://www.judgebarbarajackson.com/
Judge Robert C. Hunter. http://www.judgebobhunter.org/
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Steelman Seat
Judge Sanford L. Steelman, Jr. http://www.judgesteelman.org/
Calabria Seat
Judge Ann Marie Calabria. http://www.calabria4judge.com/
Judge Jane Gray. http://www.judgejanegray.com/
Elmore Seat
Judge Rick Elmore. http://www.judgeelmore.com/
Steven Walker. http://walkerforcoa.com/
Geer Seat
Judge Martha Geer. http://marthageer.com/
Dean Poirier. http://www.poirier4justice.com/
Wynn Seat (instant runoff voting)
Governor Beverly Perdue appointed Judge Cressie Thigpen to fill the vacancy created by Judge James Wynn’s appointment to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Because the vacancy was created after the primary filing period but more than 60 days before the general election, an election for this seat will occur on November 2, 2010. For more information about the candidates and the voting process, see the NCBA’s flier at: http://www.ncbar.org/media/8254237/govAffairs_instantRunoffVoting_2010.pdf.
Want to know who paid for the race? http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=22
14 Thursday Oct 2010
Posted in Liability, NC Court of Appeals, NC Law, Negligence
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The N.C. Court of Appeals makes clear it takes more than negligence of the employer to meet the standard for a Woodson Claim. In Valenzuela v. Pallet Express, Inc., the Court upheld the trial court’s granting of summary judgment for the defendants, finding that the estate of a teenage boy who was killed while operating a shredder could not state a Woodson claim for negligence against his employer, even though the decedent was too young to operate the heavy machinery and a safety guard had been removed. The Court reasoned that there was no evidence that the employer knew its actions were substantially certain to cause serious injury or death.
13 Wednesday Oct 2010
Posted in Insurance
Tags
Does homeowners insurance, or renters insurance for my friends in New York City, cover bedbug infestations? This is a question that few, if any, homeowners insurance agents have ever fielded prior to the Great Bedbug Epidemic of 2010. Now the calls are coming out of the woodwork, so to speak.
So. Let’s say you have bedbugs, and hypothetically, you’re not too embarrassed to admit it to your homeowners insurance agent. Can you make a claim to rid your home or apartment of the uninvited guests?
Uh, no. According to Wilkinson, most standard homeowners insurance and renters insurance policiesexclude vermin infestations. Keeping bedbugs and other vermin at bay is considered the homeowner’s responsibility. Or option, I suppose.
13 Wednesday Oct 2010
Posted in Insurance
Tags
Adolescence, Aggressive driving, Driving and Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Seat belt, Traffic collision
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Automobile accidents are easily the leading cause of death for teenagers across America, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For both genders, drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 have the highest average annual crash and traffic violation rates of any other age group. NHTSA data also show that unaccompanied 16- and 17-year-olds crash nine times more often than adults.
Research indicates that young novice drivers tend to underestimate the crash risk in hazardous situations. Teen drivers also tend to take more risks while driving, partly due to their overconfidence in their driving abilities. One way for parents to reduce their teen’s chances of being involved in an auto accident is to use technology to monitor their driving characteristics and provide appropriate feedback.
A number of “black box” products are now available on the marketplace to facilitate monitoring drivers. These small devices (often the size of a pager and starting at around $280) can be simply installed into the auto your teen drives by plugging them into the Vehicle Data Link Connector (on 1996 and new vehicles). They can detect and record your teen’s speed, aggressive driving such as “jack-rabbit” takeoffs, failure to wear a seat belt, unsafe backing techniques, driving locations, monthly mileage, and driving times. Thus, if your teen’s curfew is at midnight and they get home at 1:00 a.m., you will know it.
With some of these products, you can simply pop the memory card out of the “black box” and plug it into your PC to display the reports and graphs. You can then review the results with your teenager, providing a great educational opportunity based on solid, technology-driven evidence. Research indicates that this type of monitoring and coaching pays off big dividends in the form of safer teen driving. Numerous companies offer these products in the marketplace, with some of the more sophisticated ones costing upwards of $1,000. A few insurers offer discounts for families who utilize these devices.
For more information on this Tip and others visit http://www.IRMI.com
North Carolina Litigation Blog 