Whether law enforcement has probable cause to search is a critical issue in most drug arrests where the defendant is inside a vehicle.  Oftentimes, that probable cause is based on the law enforcement officer's detection of the odor of marijuana.  This letter from the State Bureau of Investigations Director opines that law enforcement officers are not able to differentiate between the smell of legal CBD products (which contain small amounts of THC) and marijuana, an illegal controlled substance; and provides additional ammunition to defense attorney's challenging probable cause for searches based on marijuana odor. Read More: unc.live/2FmFXHE ​ For[...]

When a client is deciding whether or not to file a lawsuit, it is important to analyze what assets a defendant has and whether the defendant will actually be able to pay-up after losing at trial. You can’t get water from a stone or blood from a turnip.  Sometimes, a defendant has assets, but they’re extremely limited (think single-member LLCs, holding companies etc.).  In those cases, clients may be rightfully concerned that the defendant will start dumping assets once they sense litigation coming.  Fortunately, under Article 35 in Chapter 1 of the North Carolina General Statutes, there is a mechanism to[...]

Interesting case from just North of the Virginia State line. The alleged value in this dispute is the network of Twitter "followers" that the Reporter developed during his employment with the Paper. In North Carolina, the law generally holds that customer lists do not constitute "trade secrets" and can't be the basis of a legal claim. In the newspaper industry where the customers are the readers, could there be an argument that Twitter followers are really just a list of readers/customers? https://bit.ly/2KBs73H  ​For information on trade secret misappropriation and other commercial law issues, contact the team at Parton Law. [...]

The Equal Justice Initiatives’ (“EJI”) National Memorial for Peace and Justice recently unveiled The Legacy Museum, dedicated to the victims of violent, non-judicial executions in the form of lynchings.  The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to notice what crime they are alleged to have committed and an opportunity to defend those allegations before they are deprived of their liberty or, more importantly, their life. ​ The National Memorial for Peace and Justice pays tribute to those who were deprived of their 14th Amendment rights and to the suffering caused by lynchings which occurred[...]

This weekend, only because I’m a nerd, I decided to watch one of my favorite TED talks (again). In 2012, Civil Rights Advocate Bryan Stevenson delivered an impactful lecture on America’s criminal justice system. If you ever have the time, I suggest you give it a watch. https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice   I had the unique pleasure of hearing Bryan speak at a book signing here in Charlotte and one quote that always stuck out to me was how not only race, but money and the lack thereof shapes outcomes. “We have a system of justice in this country that treats you[...]

Earlier this week, Mecklenburg County became the latest victim of a ransomware attack that resulted in a shutdown of the County’s IT systems. The Hackers demanded $23,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for an encryption key that would release the files. The County was left with the choice of either paying the ransom and restoring their usual systems or resorting to old-fashioned paper systems. As the deadline passed to meet the Hacker’s demands, Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio announced she would not pay criminals and that the County would rebuild its system applications and restore files and data from backups.[...]

Earlier this week, a twenty-five year old Math teacher at Rocky Mount Preparatory School was accused of having sexual contact with three underage students ( http://bit.ly/2tjMeLR ). Students and teachers were interviewed before a warrant for Erin McAuliffe was issued. McAuliffe was later arrested. McAuliffe was fired on May 4th and had her first appearance in court yesterday to face the allegations brought against her. When serious misconduct in connection with a school, and teachers or students suddenly transition to suspects and witnesses, the question of what rights those individuals have have often arises and can be critical. The[...]

The Charlotte Observer reported that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), the largest police department in North Carolina, is implementing a new program to help solve current and cold cases. You may be thinking new DNA testing or interrogation methods but you would be wrong. The CMPD is leaving it to the cards, literally. CMPD is printing the faces of murder victims onto playing cards that will be handed out to prisoners in Mecklenburg County. CMPD hopes that by placing pictures of murder victims onto decks of cards, prisoners will contact Crime Stoppers with information. With approximately 600 open homicides[...]

Today is being organized as A Day Without Latinos where some Hispanics did not go to work, did not send their children to school, and boycotted businesses. On my way to work, I noticed a rally of hundreds of people kicked off at noon today at Marshall Park in Charlotte. Some were waving American flags while others held signs that read: “No Ban - No wall. Stay united”, “Stop Racism” and “We are not criminals.” It made me curious as to whether or not those people here illegally had an unqualified right to free speech. On May 7, 2015,[...]

Most people don’t keep up with statutory amendments, proposed legislation, or case law developments, but are generally aware of prohibited behavior like stealing, assault etc. that is illegal in North Carolina. However, ignorance of the law is not a defense, and most people aren’t aware that other, more obscure activities, such as serving alcohol at a bingo game, stealing grease, or failing to keep a detailed record of cotton sales, that constitute crimes. Here are some of the stranger North Carolina criminal laws that could land you in the slammer as originally highlighted by Charlotte Stories: It's Illegal to[...]