The Blog
Pleading Away Due Process: Plea Bargaining in North Carolina
Every year, more than 90% of all federal and criminal cases are resolved through a plea bargain. In North Carolina this rate is even higher, reaching 95% on average in recent years. In fiscal year 2022, 98% of North Carolina’s criminal cases were resolved by plea deals, underscoring the system’s reliance on negotiated justice…
A Ripple Effect: The Supreme Court Limitation of EPA Authority in San Francisco V
The 2025 Supreme Court case City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency is a major ruling that cuts back on how much control the EPA has under the Clean Water Act (CWA)…
17th Century Witchcraft Laws in The American Colonies
Today, it is hard to rationalize the 17th-century witch trials because the American legal system has operated with due process for almost two hundred years. “Due process” encompasses many aspects of the judicial system, such as procedural action and constitutional rights, but broadly, it guarantees a fair trial.
Lost Innocence: The Tragedy of Wrongful Convictions
Ronnie Long, a resident of Concord, North Carolina, spent 44 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit…
Raise the Age Act: Changes in Effect
January 26th, 2025, Sean Simpson shot and killed Zaquavious Dawkins, and injured one other individual…
Understanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a humanitarian program granted and administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)…
Cinematic Justice: How Films Shape Legal Views
After a long day of classes, it’s finally time to wind down and relax. You throw yourself into bed, bury yourself underneath mountains of blankets, and turn on the latest episode of that true crime show you just can’t get enough of. The dramatic music swells, a narrator with a serious tone sets the scene, detectives work swiftly, and a last-minute confession wraps up the episode…
The Future of Medicaid: Balancing Budget Cuts and Healthcare Access
Medicaid is a cornerstone of the American healthcare system, providing essential health coverage to millions of low-income individuals, children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Established in 1965, the program operates as a federal-state partnership…
Real ID and Why It Isn’t Real… Yet
Real ID is a standard for identification put into place by the Real ID Act that prohibits agencies within the federal government from accepting identification that does not meet a set of rigorous standards…
Civil Forfeiture: How 32 Tons of Shark Fins Appealed in Court
On August 13, 2002, a small ship called King Diamond II floated heavily off the west coast of Mexico, weighed down by illicit cargo. When Navy destroyer USS Fife spotted the vessel floating lopsidedly through the water, the destroyer requested a search of the King Diamond II and sent a boarding party to conduct it…
A Raleigh Company & PPP Loan Fraud: A Closer Look
A Raleigh-based company, DynPro, has been ordered to pay over $2 million for fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan. DynPro is a digital transformation company that solves business challenges and optimizes its operations through various IT consulting services.
Case Highlight: Michael Garcia v. Starbucks Corporation
On March 14th, 2025, a California jury awarded plaintiff Michael Garcia $50 million in damages sustained from having hot tea spilled on him at a Starbucks drive-thru. It was February 8, 2020, when delivery driver Michael Garcia was picking up an order of three hot “medicine ball” teas…
How the Murder of Laken Riley has changed Politics
On the morning of February 22nd, 2024, 22-year-old Laken Riley was out for a run on the campus of Augusta University, located in Athens, Georgia. The nursing student began her run at about 9:03 am…
The Right to Repair in the USA
As products get more and more complicated with the utilization of electronics and sensors, consumers are facing more and more difficulties performing their own maintenance and repairs on products that they purchase…
Judge Herrick’s Advice to Aspiring Lawyers
In January, Kimberly Herrick was sworn in as a district court judge of Cabarrus County. Years before that, she was the chair of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners. Many years before that, she was a high school civics teacher…
E.M.D. Sales Inc vs. Carrera: A Fair Labor Standards Act Circuit Split
Under the separation of powers in the Constitution, whenever a new bill is passed by Congress, it is up to the courts to interpret that law and how it should be applied. In a perfect world, these new laws would all be interpreted the same way…
Opinion: Reinventing Government or Executive Overreach? Examining DOGE
The first month of the second Trump administration has attracted considerable attention within the American political and legal spheres…
NC Sues RealPage: Landlords Use AI Illegally to Raise Rent
The new North Carolina Attorney General, Jeff Jackson, came into office swinging on January 1, 2025. One of his first actions was coordinating the expansion of an eleven-co-plaintiff lawsuit against RealPage Inc…
The GDPR: Exploring Europe’s Response to 21st Century Data Privacy Concerns
In the 21st century, it can often feel like “privacy” is a thing of the past. Online, where the average internet user spends six-and-a-half hours a day, personal data is constantly being collected and processed…
Grammy Nominated Rapper A$AP Rocky: Trial Overview
On January 24, 2025, Rakim Mayers, known by his stage name A$AP Rocky, sat down in court. He was facing two counts of California Penal Code Section 245(b) - Assault with a semiautomatic firearm. . .