by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 23, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act has done for one inmate just what it was designed to do: A 38-year-old African American inmate is no longer sentenced to death. Because a judge ruled that racial bias played a role in the trial and sentencing of the man, his... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 20, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Drunk Driving
The results of a drunk driving accident are never good. But when such an accident results in the loss of a life it’s truly a tragedy. This was the case in 1996 when a North Carolina man killed two people while driving. He had been drinking alcohol and was taking... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 17, 2012 | Criminal Defense, Criminal Law Blog
The parents of a 31-year-old Durham man are not giving up on a dispute with the Raleigh Police Department. They believe their son is a “marked man,” even though the two misdemeanor charges against him have been dismissed. The family filed complaints with... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 14, 2012 | Criminal Defense, Criminal Law Blog
An arrest for a minor offense is usually handled quickly. Most of the 700,000 arrests on nonviolent, non-drug-related criminal charges every year go right to a judge, and the suspects are released immediately. If a judge is not available, though, the suspects are held... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 13, 2012 | Criminal Defense, Criminal Law Blog
We want to finish up our discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court case about strip searches and Fourth Amendment rights before we talk about the Trayvon Martin “stand your ground” case. In our last post, we went over the majority opinion that said the strip...