Legal Briefs

Lab Mistake Cost the State the Conviction

In a felony trafficking case of opium a veteran chemist of some thirty-four years with the State lab, admitted under oath that he had not tested all of the pills submitted.  The chemist went on to state under oath that he had conducted a chemical analysis on about

DWI-Asthma Not a Defense?

Opinion testimony by the arresting officer that asthma has no effect on a person’s ability to provide a sufficient breath sample was admitted over defendant’s objection by the Judge in the defendant’s jury trial. Additional evidence offered without objection was that the defendant’s inability to provide a breath

Reasonable Suspicion for Vehicle Stops Extended

No more is safe driving and having the vehicle you are driving in proper working order enough to avoid being stopped. If you are driving a vehicle where the registered owner is revoked, law enforcement can pull you over under new law. The NC Court of Appeals in

Magistrate’s Mistake Doesn’t Equal a Dismissal in a DWI

The DWI laws in North Carolina continue to get tougher and more friendly to the government. In a recent case, where a Magistrate was found to have violated the defendant’s rights by setting a secured bond on a DWI charge without making necessary findings to support setting the

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