Stalking Laws in North Carolina

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Stalking is a crime that is taken seriously in North Carolina. If you have been charged with this criminal offense, you will need the help of a skilled lawyer to help put together a strong defense. Facing charges like these can be scary and disorienting. They have the ability to derail your future, and they can mar your reputation for years to come. In North Carolina, stalking is a class A1 misdemeanor, which places it in the same category as assault inflicting serious injury and assault with a deadly weapon. If you already have a stalking conviction on your record, subsequent stalking charges are a class F felony, which can come with steep fines and jail time upon conviction, not to mention the impact they will have on your social relationships, financial future, career, and housing prospects. If you are facing criminal charges for stalking, contact a Charlotte criminal defense lawyer.

Stalking is a Violent Crime, Even When it Does Not Involve Physical Contact. North Carolina law defines stalking as following, observing, monitoring, or communicating with a person while aware that your doing so will cause them emotional distress. Stalking can include repeated incidents of harassment and intimidating behavior, even if they do not include overt threats of physical harm. Stalking often occurs in the context of domestic violence; in most criminal cases involving stalking, the defendant is the estranged spouse or former romantic partner of the victim. Therefore, the law treats stalking as an early stage of domestic violence and imposes penalties accordingly.

What kinds of communications counts as stalking? You have probably seen scary movies where a stalker physically follows a victim or figures out where a victim will be in order to plan an attack. Today, there are so many ways to stay in contact, and it is easy to imagine how all of them can turn ugly. Just as schoolyard bullies can now continue their bullying on What’s App, and Internet trolls spread ugly rumors on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok, stalking can take place through any means of communication.

For example, if you continuously contact your ex in person, or by phone, text message, email, or social media message, you could be charged with stalking. You can even get charged with stalking if you are not the one who placed the phone call, sent the text message, or posted the images on Facebook. If you instruct a third party to communicate to or about the victim in order to cause the victim to feel fear or distress, this is enough to result in stalking charges, and those charges can land you in jail.

Not All Violent Crimes are Felonies

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Another common misconception about violent crimes is that they are all felonies. In fact, it is possible to get misdemeanor charges for assault or battery if the victim does not sustain serious injuries. The chances that the prosecutors will treat your assault or battery charges as misdemeanors are greater if the victim was not seriously injured and if there were no weapons involved.

Contact Plumides, Romano & Johnson, PC About Violent Crime Charges
Our violent crimes defense lawyers can help you fight your charges or seek a plea deal if you are facing charges for a violent crime such as assault or battery. Contact us to discuss your case.

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Murder, Manslaughter, and Homicide

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According to North Carolina law, murder and homicide are the same. These terms mean that the defendant intentionally killed the victim; the degrees of homicide depends on how premeditated the killing was.

Manslaughter is when the victim died as a result of the defendant’s actions, but the defendant did not intend to kill the victim. It is voluntary manslaughter if the defendant intended to injure the victim but did not think that the victim would die, such as if the defendant and the victim got into a fistfight and the victim died of their injuries. Involuntary manslaughter is if the defendant caused an accident in which the victim suffered fatal injuries.

You need to know your rights as well as the consequences so that you can have the best representation possible.

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Assault and Battery

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Assault and battery are not interchangeable. There are a lot of things that most people do not understand about criminal law until they get charged with a crime, including the differences between some closely related offenses. There are many incidents in which a defendant gets charged with assault and also with battery, but the terms “assault” and “battery” are not the same. Assault is any action that causes the victim to feel a reasonable fear of imminent physical harm, such as brandishing your fist in front of the victim’s face. You can be convicted of assault even if you do not make physical contact with the victim. Battery is any hostile touching of another person, such as punching or slapping, whether it causes a visible injury or not.

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Misunderstood Criminal Law Terms

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In the court of public opinion, there are only two kinds of crime, namely violent crime and non-violent crime, and violent crime is always bad. Even as public support increases for pretrial diversion programs and other ways of reducing mass incarceration, a lot of people will qualify their statements with “only for nonviolent offenses.” Therefore, if you are being accused of assault, domestic violence, or any other crime related to physical violence, you might feel like you have no one on your side. In fact, all defendants in criminal cases, no matter the seriousness of the crime of which they are accused, have legal rights, including the right to representation by a lawyer. If you are facing charges for a violent crime, contact a Charlotte criminal defense attorney.

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Cancer Society Worker Charged

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Cancer Society worker charged with embezzlement.

We are often surprised by the individuals that are charged with crimes. For example, one woman pled guilty to embezzlement charges in a North Carolina County. While employed by the American Cancer Society, she allegedly embezzled $70,000 from the organization.

The woman supposedly opened a checking account using the name of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. She was then said to have used money from the account for various personal services. The woman charged with this crime has since repaid the money supposedly taken.

The court sentenced this individual to 25 days in jail and three years of probation. Authorities reportedly dropped seven other embezzlement counts in return for her guilty plea.

We do not know the exact circumstances of what occurred here. Though a guilty plea was elicited, it is always possible that the person charged only pled guilty to avoid facing a far lengthier sentence if convicted of other charges. People charged with felonies and other criminal activity may often feel that they have little other choice than to plead guilty.

Also, even when an individual is found guilty of particular charges, certain actions can still be taken that may result in a reduced sentence. For example, it’s possible that the woman’s paying back the money she purportedly embezzled led to her facing a lighter sentence.

It’s always best that anyone charged with a serious crime first speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney before making any deals with prosecutors or making a plea in court. Our attorneys can provide individuals with their legal options and advise them concerning the best possible course of action.

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Felonies & Firearm Rights

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Many people who are denied for a gun permit (such as a concealed carry (“CCW”) permit or a pistol purchase permit) face that situation because they were stripped of their right to possess a firearm when they were convicted of a felony. Others are simply aware that they have an old conviction and wonder if they will ever again be able to legally possess a firearm (or otherwise face being charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon). There is indeed a process through which you can petition the court to restore your firearm rights, but it is a narrow field of people who actually qualify.

The restoration of firearm rights is governed by North Carolina General Statute § 14-415.4. This law lays out the requirements of who can, and who can’t, petition to restore their rights. For example:

• You can only have been convicted of one “set” of felony convictions. This means if you were convicted of multiple qualifying felonies that arose from the same event and were sentenced together in the same session of court, you would meet this requirement.
• You must have finished serving every part of your sentence (be that post-supervision release following incarceration, probation, etc.) at least 20 years ago before you can file your petition.
• The felony (or felonies from the same set) can only be for a “nonviolent” felony. This means:
o It must be a Class C felony or lower (i.e., Class C through Class I felony)
o It cannot be a felony for which assault is an essential element of the offense
o It cannot be a felony for which you were armed with a gun or other deadly weapon in the commission of the offense, or for which possessing or using such a deadly weapon is an essential element
o It cannot be a felony for which you had to register as a sex offender

There are also other disqualifiers for eligibility besides those listed above. In addition, the term “essential element” is a legal term of art that is very often not obvious on its face. This means that some offenses you would assume classify as “violent” felonies are actually not. This can be determined by consulting with an attorney who handles firearm restoration to determine if you are in fact eligible.

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What To Do If Pistol Permit Is Denied

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Unlike other types of firearms, to buy a pistol in North Caroline you must first get a Pistol Purchase Permit. If the Sheriff’s department denies your application, which can be for a myriad of reasons, it is important to consult with an attorney to know what your options are going forward. This denial is not necessarily final—you can file what’s commonly known as a gun permit appeal in court to fight the Sheriff department’s decision.

There are two different types of gun permits in North Carolina: Pistol Purchase Permits and Concealed Carry Permits (“CCW Permits”). Each permit has its own requirements and factors that can disqualify you, and the method of appealing a denial is also different for each. For example, for Purchase Permits (governed by North Carolina General Statute § 14-404), the Sheriff can only look at your criminal record going back five (5) years from the date of your application in deciding whether to grant or deny your application. (However, it is important to note that if you have almost a felony conviction on your record, that will require a separate process to Restore Your Firearm Rights.) In addition, Pistol Purchase Permit appeals are filed in your local Superior Court, unlike CCW Permits which must be filed in the District Court.

Superior Court is much more formal that District Court. It is a higher court, and unlike District Court, it is a “court of record,” meaning that all hearings are transcribed by a court reporter. In addition, Purchase Permits have a “good moral character” requirement—and the meaning of that term is as vague as it sounds, which means the Sheriff has wide discretion in considering Pistol Purchase Permits. Fortunately, with the assistance of attorney who handles gun permit denials, you stand a much better chance at proving to the court that the Sheriff’s decision was incorrect. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to appealing a gun permit denial, so discussing your case’s specific facts with an attorney is of the utmost importance so they can guide you through an individualized plan of action.

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Why is My Driver’s License Suspended

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According to the North Carolina legislature, possessing a driver’s license in this state is considered a privilege, not a right. Because of this, there are many different ways in which to have this have that privilege temporarily suspended, or lost altogether. The most common ways that this occurs can be boiled down to three basic scenarios:

  1. You are convicted of certain traffic offenses. Some convictions create an automatic suspension (accumulating too many points on your driver’s license; speeding 15 mph over the limit if you’re going more than 55 mph; or speeding more than 80 mph over the posted speed limit). Other convictions give the Department of Motor Vehicles the option of suspending your license (such as being convicted of reckless driving and speeding over 55 mph within the same year).
  2. Getting a Failure to Appear (“FTA”) in court.
  3. You are convicted of (or in some instances, simply charged with) an impaired driving offense. If you refuse to give a breath sample during a DWI investigation, have a blood alcohol content (“BAC”) of at least .08% or more, or a BAC of .04% while driving a commercial vehicle, your license is automatically revoked and suspended for 30 days If you are convicted of a DWI (whether by pleading guilty or after a trial), your license will be suspended for a year. Having multiple DWI convictions will also lead to longer suspensions or even a permanent suspension.

If your license is suspended for the first or second categories above, and you are pulled over while driving during that period of suspension, you will most likely be charged with Driving While License Revoked (“DWLR”). This is a Class 3 misdemeanor in North Carolina.

If, however, you are suspended under category three above and are caught driving, you will be charged with Driving While Revoked for an Impaired Revocation, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor, the most serious class of misdemeanors in North Carolina.

The most important takeaway is this, regardless of the type of suspension you may be facing: it is absolutely critical that you consult with an attorney in any of the above situations instead of simply going online and paying off your ticket. Many people do not realize this, but doing so is admitting that you are guilty. Consult with an attorney experienced in handling such matters as soon as possible to protect your license.

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DWI Sentencing

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Driving While Impaired (“DWI”) sentencing in North Carolina is generally distinct from other types of misdemeanor sentencing and is governed by its own sentencing statute, North Carolina General Statute § 20-179. The law flat-out requires that after a DWI conviction, the court must hold a hearing and determine the existence of so-called aggravating and mitigating factors, which will affect what “Level” you are for sentencing, and what sentence you consequently receive.

DWI sentencing classifications in this state range from Level 1 to Level 5—and they may not mean what you think. A Level 5 is actually the lightest level of punishment, while Level 1 is the most severe. What level you will be entirely depends upon how many “grossly aggravating” (if any), aggravating and mitigating factors you have.

Examples of grossly aggravating factors include if you have a prior conviction for an impaired driving offense in the seven years before the date of offense of the instant conviction (for which you’re being currently sentenced); or, if during the instant offense: your impaired driving caused serious injury to another person; you had a child under the age of 18 in the vehicle; or your driver’s license was revoked for another impaired driving offense. Meanwhile, simple aggravating factors include having a Blood Alcohol Content (“BAC”) of 0.15 or higher, negligent driving that led to an accident that could be reported, or driving while your license was revoked for any other reason.

Mitigating factors include if your BAC was 0.09 or lower, having what qualifies as a “safe driving record,” or if your impairment was due to a legally prescribed controlled substance as long as you were within the legally prescribed range.

The State has the burden of proving to the court that any of the grossly aggravating factors (if any) or aggravating factors exist, by a “preponderance” of the evidence (which means “more likely than not,” a burden much lesser than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required for a criminal conviction). Because of this and the many other intricacies involved in these types of charges, it is extremely important to have the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney who handles DWI offenses regularly.

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