by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 20, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
When Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 1992, major league baseball was still reeling from revelations that Pete Rose, a hero to many, had been placing bets on games in which he participated. His penalty was a lifetime ban from the... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 17, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
One of the reasons we are talking about sports gambling actually harkens back to the passage of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act: Baseball legend Pete Rose turned 74 this week. He has been banned from baseball for 26 years, and there is growing... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 13, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
North Carolina is not home to a major league baseball team, but we are the home of the fictional Durham Bulls, the minor league team at the center of one of the best sports movies ever made. And we have our professional football, basketball and even ice hockey teams... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 11, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Drunk Driving
Motorists who are arrested on charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol can find themselves facing a list of serious consequences, many of which carry long-lasting effects. High fines, jail time, license suspension or revocation, mandatory use of... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 6, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
We are finishing up our discussion of an accident in Rhode Island. The driver of a public transit bus may face criminal charges after his bus struck and killed a young pedestrian. In our last post, we talked about the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s... by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 3, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
We are looking at an accident in another state, this time Rhode Island. A public transit bus struck and killed a 9-year-old girl as she walked to school. There don’t appear to be any new developments in the case since our March 30 post, with the small exception... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 30, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
We are casting our net a little wide of North Carolina today to talk about an accident that occurred in Rhode Island. To date, there are no criminal charges (the accident happened on Thursday, March 26), but there may be. And we know of no civil action, though there... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 27, 2015 | Violent Crimes
In 2011, we posted about two men found innocent of second-degree murder after they had served 10 years in prison. Their exonerations were the result of appeals to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. What cleared them? What else? DNA. The first use of DNA... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 25, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Drunk Driving
Have you ever had a moment of hesitation before getting behind the wheel, wondering if your blood alcohol content would register above or below the 0.08 legal limit? The truth is the line between legal and illegal is not very hard to cross. Unfortunately, if you do... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 23, 2015 | Violent Crimes
A couple we know was expecting their first child, and they had all sorts of plans. The baby, they said, would grow up to be a doctor. They just knew it. They could feel it in their bones. This child — a boy — was destined for medicine. But, just to be...