Wilmington Criminal Defense Law Blog

If you are the parent of a North Carolina college student who is heading off to school in the fall, you are probably doing your best to steer your child in the right direction. Making sure your child makes sound decisions in your absence can dramatically improve your peace of mind once he or she leaves the nest. Additionally, it can also improve the chances that he or she will avoid getting into any trouble that could potentially impact financial aid.

If your child receives a conviction for a drug-related criminal charge, for example, this can potentially hinder his or her ability to continue to receive federal financial aid. Virtually any type of state or federal drug conviction can cause your child to lose financial aid, potentially leaving you on the hook to make up the difference.

You may feel that selling opioids and other synthetic drugs in Wilmington is a good gig for you to have. However, if you have not yet learned how unlawful the activity is, you may not realize how much you stand to lose. The law takes a strict stance against alleged drug dealers and individuals who sell and distribute them. Not only do you risk incarceration, but you may also end up having to live with the knowledge that your actions contributed to someone’s death. 

You may be under the impression that your charges will not stick because you are not dealing enough for the law to consider you a high-volume dealer. It does not matter how much you intended to sell or how much law enforcement accused you of selling or distributing. The penalties are harsh and lawmakers are working to revamp the laws to penalize small-time drug traffickers, sellers and distributors more. 

Many people in North Carolina assume that traffic stops are for motorists who speed, run red lights and disregard other traffic laws. Those infractions often only result in tickets, points on driving records and fines. There are some traffic crimes that are much more serious and can result in criminal misdemeanor or felony charges.

Under normal conditions, you can avoid injuring someone by paying attention and driving defensively. However, there may be circumstances in which you accidentally end up in a collision that causes minimal property damage. The moment you leave the scene of the accident, you have committed a crime and could end up facing a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge.

Small accidents or non-catastrophic vehicle crashes are a reasonably common occurrence in a person's life. You will probably be involved in a few throughout your lifetime-whether you hit another car or another person accidentally injuries you. However, what happens when that seemingly painless accident from weeks ago suddenly becomes-literally and figuratively-a pain in the neck?

Small tinges, ongoing joint pain or sudden daily headaches should not be ignored. Many people will begin to feel pain or slightly different than usual and pass it off as a new issue. This can be a problem when the source of the pain is a direct result of your car crash.