How Close is North Carolina to Legalizing Marijuana?

Jun 2
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes | Marijuana

The short answer is: not very. The longer answer is that it depends on what you mean by “legalizing marijuana.”

There’s no denying that the laws surrounding marijuana in our country are changing—and fast.

Today, twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have laws in place that legalize marijuana in some form. In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington approved a landmark initiative to legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana. In Alaska, adults can possess, purchase, and carry up to an ounce of marijuana and six plants. In Oregon, adults will [...]

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When You Suffer Personal Injury on Public Transportation

May 25
2015

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Categories: Personal Injury | Public Transportation

Amtrak train Carolinian No. 80 was making its way from Charlotte to New York when it slammed into a tractor trailer at an intersection in Halifax County. The driver of the truck had been struggling to make a left turn when the train appeared and struck the rig. The force of the collision sent debris flying, and caused the locomotive and baggage cars of the train to derail.

While the driver of the trailer was not injured, 55 of the 212 aboard were rushed to the hospital. The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, the [...]

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How North Carolina’s Sex Offender Registry Works

May 18
2015

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Categories: Sex Crimes

Click through the hundreds of photographs of sex offenders in the North Carolina online sex offender registry, and the effect is chilling.

The faces of men and women alike stare back at you, some of them older, many of them young. Some of them wear blank or undecipherable expressions, while others wear undeniable expressions of fear, anger, and shame. Click on a photo of one of the offenders, and you’ll be taken to a page with detailed information on their appearance, address, and criminal history.

This is the fate of sex offender convicts [...]

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Understanding North Carolina’s Structured Sentencing Laws

May 12
2015

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Categories: Criminal Defense

 

North Carolina is one of the handful of states that uses structured sentencing—a method of sentencing and punishing criminals where courts look at the severity of the crime and any previous criminal record in order to decide on an appropriate punishment and length of sentence.

Structured sentencing is different from the indeterminate sentencing system used by most other states, where courts have wide discretion when determining a sentence. With indeterminate sentencing, offenders are sentenced to a term of imprisonment that reflects a range, such as one to five years. With structured sentencing, [...]

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North Carolina’s “Good Samaritan” Law on Drug Overdoses

May 5
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes

It is estimated that more than 1,100 people die from unintentional drug overdose every year in North Carolina alone. Nationwide, overdose deaths have exceeded car accidents as the principal cause of accidental fatalities.

Over the last decade, drug overdoses have also increased because of the rising rates of prescription painkiller abuse. Fatalities caused by prescription painkillers are often avoidable, since it can take hours for an overdose to become fatal. If medical attention is obtained, prescription overdose could be prevented through resuscitation.

Unfortunately, people who witness or experience a drug overdose do not [...]

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