Moral Monday Protesters The Wake County District Attorney’s Office has offered to allow the 900 + Moral Monday arrestees to perform 25 hours of community service in exchange for a dismissal of their charges. This offer should be rejected. I will be advising all of my Moral Monday clients to take their cases to trial; and if we lose, I will advise them to appeal and take their cases to trial again in Superior Court before a jury. And if we lose in Superior Court, to make a [...]

AGGRAVATING FACTORS IN DWI’s IN DISTRICT COURT North Carolina General Statute 20-179(a1) provides the manner that the State must give notice of its intent to use and prove aggravating factors against Defendants charged with DWI when the matter is appealed to Superior Court. Interestingly (and crucially, as we will discuss below), the statute is silent on the issue of DWI’s with original jurisdiction in Superior Court — those misdemeanor DWI’s that, for whatever reason, are indicted by the Grand Jury to be heard in Superior Court. The statute [...]

Good For The IRS What a bunch of whining Nazis! No. Not the IRS. The right-wing nut-job so-called Tea Party types. First they steal one of the defining events in our glorious struggle for liberty, equality and Democracy, turning it on its head and re-defining it as some sort of emblem of conservatism. Then, they advocate for the dismantling of our Constitution and Government — call the President a Muslim terrorist. All the while railing against taxes, yelling from the rooftops in their nasal, insistent accents that they [...]

LET’S LOWER THE LIMIT TO .05! Yes! The Lawyer Relief Fund. Every time the legislature revisits criminal laws, toughens up punishments, makes it easier to convict, we get to raise our rates. Thank you, Jones St. Keep up the good work — our Founders would be proud of all your interest in the lives of the citizens of a free country. A quick look at the history of the alcohol limit. In the 1930’s, when someone clever came up with a method to calculate a person’s blood alcohol [...]

Checkpoints are Un-American I’m back! Thank you. Please. Please. Thank you. No more cheering. Thank you. Thank you. You’re so kind. (I have my Obama-esque slight embarrassment, while still appreciative, serious look on). Imagine this scenario, my millions: You’re walking down the road minding your own business, nice sunny afternoon for a stroll, whistling your favourite tune, smiling benignly on the charming scene around you, warmly greeting your passers-by, thinking to yourself, “God is in His Heaven and all is well with the world.” You turn a corner [...]

21st Century Debtors Prisons Fortunately, despite Cleveland County, NC Republican Tim Moore’s best efforts to help his poor, defenseless corporate buddies, debtors’ prisons in the United States are unconstitutional. But wage-garnishment to enforce the payment of a private debt? That’s Moore’s plan. A plan for the government to involve itself (on the side of creditors) in the business of collecting private debts. Modern day debtors’ prison, ladies and gents. Moore’s proposed law to allow wage-garnishment for the repayment of private debts is a terrible and frightening idea. Most [...]

Another Book I Recommend Once again, my apologies to the millions of my followers (thanks for reading my blog, Will): My lack of blogging over the past few months is not for a dearth of subjects for me to rant about — not the least being the witch-hunt known as The State of North Carolina v. James Crouch. But that’s a subject that requires a marathon session sitting at my computer. And it’s coming. It’s definitely coming. My disgust at this malicious, unfounded and mean-spirited prosecution and the [...]

2012 Elections Face it, most people have no idea what they’re doing when they see the list of judges up for election on their ballots. Actually when they see the judges’ names on their ballots that’s probably the first time they’ve even seen these peoples’ names. The voter’s best option in this situation is to just not vote for either or any of the candidates. But, distressingly, in some sort of misguided sense of democratic duty, the voter blindly votes for someone without a clue of who that [...]

Red State Welfare Queens That idiot Mitt Romney’s comment on the 47% of Americans who don’t pay federal taxes got me thinking: Who actually pays taxes? And where do they go? And wouldn’t you know it, it’s the Red States — the Republican States — that are the real moochers. The Republican States, the States with the loudest voices baying for Democratic (and democratic) blood, the whining, insistent, self-righteous, anti-government bible-thumpers are the ones getting the most benefits from the government they seek to dismantle. And who’s paying [...]

Pay Judges More (Yes, I mean it) The other day I was reading my Scottish Government App and saw that someone who holds a position called the Lord President was resigning and a new Lord President would have to be appointed. It turns out the Lord President is the head of the Scottish Judiciary. He or she runs the whole Scottish legal system . And the Lord President is paid almost $400,000.00 a year. I’m not sure if we in North Carolina have a direct equivalent position to [...]

Some Books I Recommend I haven’t had much of a chance to write recently (and it’s not for lack of subjects!). So I thought I’d list a few books that I think are worth reading (in no particular order): 1984, George Orwell This is a classic. If you’ve never read it or haven’t read it in a while, read it (again). It’s a timeless reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism, authoritarianism, unchecked governmental control — that sort of thing. Not necessarily completely pleasant to read, it is strangely [...]

Why can’t I Open a Liquor Store? Because the State says I can’t. That’s right, The government of North Carolina thinks its citizens can’t be trusted to sell liquor off premises. Only the State can. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. But I suspect it has something to do with the bible, or, more accurately, what those who like to bash said book would have us believe it says. Not that it does. And if it did, who cares what some religious text says or what [...]

Cops’ Good Faith…I Don’t Think So Beginning July 1, 2011, the revised version of Section 15A-974 of the North Carolina General Statutes goes into effect. Don’t be fooled by the high number after the dash and the A following 15 into believing this law is some obscure, irrelevant provision in our laws (and, yes, there are plenty of stupid laws on our books). 15A-974 is a law relied on by every criminal defense lawyer in the State (at least those who fight). It’s the law that provides us [...]

Open Letter to Chief District Court Judge Rader Re: Shirts tucked in, pants pulled up. Dear Judge Rader: It is with genuine reluctance and hesitation that I broach this matter with you, but, insignificant as it may at first appear, this is actually a serious subject, and one that I strongly feel needs to be addressed. And sooner rather than later. You may not be aware that there are judges on the District Court Bench who require that certain people who appear in court before them dress in [...]

Scott Walker: Our Own Homegrown Gadhafi An embattled head of state facing a population in revolt, a government abandoning him, and a world looking on in disgust. Wisconsin or Libya? Yes. Colonel Gadhafi will stop at nothing to cling onto the power he has enjoyed for four decades. Governor Scott Walker will stop at nothing to cling onto the power he has enjoyed for four months. Neither man gives two shits for the people of what each regards as his own fiefdom. Gadhafi will kill them; Walker will [...]