Can I Plead Self-Defense?

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Yearly Archives: 2017

  1. Can I Plead Self-Defense?

    From a distance, assault and self-defense might look incredibly similar. In North Carolina, assault is defined as when someone threatens to cause or actually causes injury to another person. Self-defense could be interpreted as almost the same thing, but the intent behind the damage is different. North Carolina’s Stand Your Ground law protects citizens from being prosecuted for defending themselves or another person from an attack.

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  2. What Happens if I Pay My Speeding Ticket?

    When people get speeding tickets, they either have the choice to live with the consequences or fight the ticket. If they pay the fee, they either need to plead guilty or no contest to the crime of speeding. To take care of the penalty, a person might have to pay a fine, plea bargain for a reduced charge, receive points on their driving records, incur possible jumps in insurance rates, or take a driver safety course.

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  3. What Happens If I Violate My Probation?

    Most courts consider probation to be the better alternative sentence to time in prison. Therefore, if people intentionally violate the rules of their probation, the court will usually impose a harsher punishment as a result. Violating probation can often depend on the terms or conditions of your probation.

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  4. How Long Will a Juvenile Crime Stay on My Child’s Record in NC?

    If your child was charged as a juvenile offender, it is possible to have his or her court record expunged. Having a crime remain on record can present a disadvantage to individuals as it is typically required to divulge this information to potential landlords, employers, and licensing agencies, which can affect one’s chances at gainful employment or obtaining a suitable residence.

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  5. Can Police Take My Blood Without a Warrant?

    When a police officer pulls you over, he or she might suspect you of driving while under the influence (DWI) of drugs or alcohol. While people can legally refuse to take an initial breathalyzer test and any field sobriety tests, once they are brought into the station, they are legally obligated to provide a blood, breath, or urine sample to the police to determine blood alcohol content (BAC).

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  6. Questions to Ask Your Criminal Defense Attorney

    If you’ve never been involved in a criminal case before, you might be feeling scared and overwhelmed. However, once you find an attorney who can represent you, your job is to do whatever it takes to make your attorney’s job easier. He or she has your best interests at heart, and a skilled attorney will be examining all aspects of the case to ensure you have a solid case.

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  7. Major Changes in the Expungement Statues-Unlimited Expungements

    An expungement is a process by which a person has a prior criminal charge erased from their record. Previously, once a person was charged or convicted of a criminal offense, there was a record of that arrest and or conviction that stayed with the person forever. Under the old expungement statutes there were only limited circumstances in which a person could apply to have a record of their arrest erased or expunged and more importantly a person could only have one expungement per lifetime.

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  8. Implied Consent in North Carolina

    In North Carolina, individuals who have been arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI), must submit to the state’s “implied consent” law, which essentially means that if an officer has reason to believe someone was driving while intoxicated, it is implied that person consents to taking a chemical test through a blood test or a breathalyzer for the purpose of determining blood alcohol content (BAC). These tests must be administered at a relevant time, though the time is not specifically defined.

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  9. Can the Police Search My House Without a Warrant?

    With the bountiful amount of legal dramas available on television, most people are aware that the police need a warrant to search their home. These dramas, however, certainly do not tell us all we need to know about search warrants, which are not necessarily as straightforward as people may think.

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  10. DWI Sentencing

    One of the more common questions that I get about DWIs is “what happens if I get convicted and sentenced to jail?” Although it is a common question it can be a tricky one to answer in some of the more serious cases. This is because the sentencing of DWIs is not covered by the Structured Sentencing Act, which addressed the sentencing of every other felony and misdemeanor and sets out a straight forward, reliable and predictable method for determining the sentence for a particular crime.

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