Blog Post
Many remember the fictional town of Mayberry, the setting for The Andy Griffith Show. Less commonly known, however, is that Mayberry is modeled after Mt. Airy, a small North Carolina town near the Virginia boarder. Frances Bavier, the actress who portrayed Aunt Bee Taylor in the hit television show, recently passed away, and spent the…
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The North Carolina Bar released Proposed 2019 Formal Ethics Opinion 3 in January, addressing questions relating to intimate relationships between opposing counsel. The question presented is whether it is permissible for a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney to engage in a romantic relationship while serving as opposing counsel in multiple cases, and whether the…
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In 2015 and 2016, media magnate Sumner Redstone amended his trust, which was challenged by former companion Manuela Herzer. A California court recently ruled that Mr. Redstone possessed the required mental capacity to amend his estate plan. In North Carolina, whether an individual is a billionaire business mogul or anyone else, the requirements for testamentary…
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In December 2018, a Phoenix, Arizona woman, who spent the last fourteen (14) years in a coma, gave birth to a healthy baby. A police investigation concluded that, while in her comatose state, she had been raped multiple times. The staff at the healthcare facility where she was a patient stated that no one knew…
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With the popularity of smart devices on the rise, their prevalence in the courtroom is increasing. In 2018, police used Karen Navarra’s Fitbit fitness tracker to find her murderer. Police accessed the recorded information and determined that her heart rate spiked then dropped significantly while her stepfather was in her house. Due to neighbors reports…
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Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice, released a letter October 23, 2018 revealing that she was diagnosed with early stage dementia (likely Alzheimer’s Disease). O’Connor plans to remain in Phoenix, AZ surrounded by her friends and family. O’Connor was the first female Supreme Court Justice of the United States. She served from 1981 until…
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American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16 at the age of 76 after battling advanced pancreatic cancer. In the days following her passing, her four sons filed documents with the Michigan Probate Court stating that Aretha passed without a will or trust, and claimed to be interested parties in her estate.…
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Last week a Superior Court judge in Durham, North Carolina awarded Keith King $8.8 million dollars in damages against Francisco Huizar III, a man who had an affair with King’s wife. This verdict is the result of North Carolina’s alienation of affection and criminal conversion laws. A remnant of English common law, causes of…
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In our ongoing series of posts about arbitration, an increasingly popular form of private dispute resolution across the United States. This week, we will discuss another prevalent system for resolving legal disputes outside of the public court system, mediation. Although arbitration and mediation both use independent third-parties to resolve legal disagreements, there are many differences…
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The law distinguishes between typewritten wills, typically prepared by an attorney, and those which are handwritten by oneself. Handwritten wills, known as holographic wills, must meet the statutory requirements set forth by N.C Gen. Stat. S 31-3.4 (2015). These requirements include: (1) the will must be written entirely by hand by the testator; (2) must…
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