An arrest of a person is a seizure of that person.  The arrest must be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.  This means there must be a factual basis for believing that the person to be arrested has committed a crime.  This factual basis is also known as “probable cause”.  Probable cause will be … [Read more...]

After a defendant has been arrested, the law enforcement officer must take the arrested person before a magistrate, judge, justice, or clerk without unnecessary delay.  Most of the time the defendant is taken before a magistrate.  The magistrate must advise the defendant of the charges, his right to … [Read more...]

Questions to ask when there has been a search and seizure of property:  Was there government conduct involved? The 4th Amendment only protects you against seizures by the government.  Are the people taking the action publicly paid police, citizens acting at their direction or are they public … [Read more...]

Law enforcement officers have the right to stop people based on reasonable suspicion that a person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime. Law enforcement officers do not need full probable cause to make this stop.  A reasonable suspicion standard is less than the full probable … [Read more...]

Sometimes a law enforcement officer is allowed to stop a person under certain circumstances even though they do not have reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is committing a crime.  There must be proper justification for this very limited stop.   Law enforcement officers can stop a … [Read more...]

A confession is normally the most damaging piece of evidence that the State can use against a defendant. Courts are reluctant to throw out confessions.   In order for a confession to be used against a defendant at trial, the confession must be voluntary and with understanding.  If there is official … [Read more...]

The biggest concern for pretrial identification is to make sure that when a witness identifies a person at trial, they are identifying the person who committed the crime and not merely the person whom they had previously seen at a pretrial identification procedure.  There are three basic … [Read more...]

In North Carolina, the grand jury is used as a regular part of the charging process.  The district attorney will prepare an indictment (charging instrument) and present this to the grand jury for its consideration.  The district  attorney selects the witnesses to be heard by the grand jury. The … [Read more...]

The Defendant is entitled to: Oral and written statements he or she has made concerning the case if it is in the custody or control of the state. Recorded  statements the Defendant has made to law enforcement officers concerning the case if it is in the custody or control of the … [Read more...]

Most cases end in a plea of some sort instead of a trial.  Pleas are normally about pleading guilty to certain charges in exchange for the State dismissing other charges or the plea could involve negotiating a certain sentence to be imposed.  Whether sentences are imposed concurrently or … [Read more...]