Can I Get My License Back? If your driver’s license is revoked or has been suspended due to traffic violations, unpaid fines, failing to appear in court, or DWI, it can be detrimental to your daily life. Getting your driver’s license revoked can cause getting to and from work, going to the grocery store and maintaining a social life much…
Marijuana Odor and Probable Cause: A Changing Standard in North Carolina For years in North Carolina, the suspected odor of marijuana alone provided probable cause for law enforcement officers to search vehicles and obtain search warrants for homes. The decriminalization of marijuana in many states and the legalization of hemp across the country has caused many state courts to reassess…
The End of a Pungent Precedent: How Courts Are Rethinking Marijuana Odor as Probable Cause Connor Aberle Historically, many state courts have held that the odor of marijuana alone is sufficient probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of an automobile, because marijuana has such a unique and recognizable odor and has been illegal in the United States for decades.…
Zachary Caffo Elon University School of Law Intern-in-Residency with Aberle & Wall As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, courts have had to deal with situations where public safety must be balanced with protecting the rights of criminal defendants. Some issues have included the right to a Speedy Trial when courts are closed and the right to pretrial release as jails have…
Zachary Caffo Elon University School of Law Intern-in-Residency with Aberle & Wall One example of systemic racism that has been pervasive in our educational and employment institutions is that of discrimination against natural black hairstyles. Specifically, there tends to be discrimination for hairstyles like braids, locs, twists, and knots. In at least one study completed by the Dove company, 80%…
Understanding Pretrial Release in North Carolina: Options, Conditions, and Firearm Holds Zachary Caffo Elon University School of Law Intern-in-Residency with When a person is arrested in North Carolina, they are brought before a magistrate at the jail, who will set the conditions of pretrial release. The magistrate will then go over a set of factors to determine if the individual…
By Cynthia Hernandez In a victory for civil rights activists and the late Breonna Taylor, Virginia has become the third state in the country to ban no-knock search warrants by law enforcement. No-knock search warrants, which are legal in most states, allow police officers to burst into a residence or business without having to announce their presence or purpose prior…
By Cynthia Hernandez Although the 2020 presidential election is virtually over and Joe Biden has been declared the President-Elect, lawsuits filed before and after the election are far from finished. One federal legal action filed by the ACLU (Drumwright et. al. v. Johnson) in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina accuses the Graham and…
Debunking the Myth: Why a .08 BAC Doesn’t Automatically Mean Guilt in a DWI Case MYTH: I blew a .08 (or higher) so I’m obviously guilty. I don’t need a lawyer and can just represent myself. TRUTH: We get this question from some people who believe that there is no option available once the breath test registers over the legal…
MYTH: It’s best to refuse to blow into the breath-test machine/breathalyzer at the jail. TRUTH: Refusing to provide a breath sample at the jail will have the immediate result of a one year revocation or suspension of your license. Also, if you try to blow into the machine and the test doesn’t register your attempts, you can also be considered…