In Part I, we discussed the Second Chance Act, and how it will affect charges that are dismissed without leave, dismissed by the court, acquitted, found not guilty, or not responsible on or after December 1, 2021. This blog, Part II, will discuss some of the other changes to expungement laws in North Carolina.

According to N.C.G.S.§ 15A-146(a4), an automatic expunction will not be required by law for a case with a felony charge that was dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement – individuals in this scenario must petition for an expunction, as it was the case under the previous statute.

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5 (c), the petition for expunction shall not be filed earlier than one of the following:

 (1) For expunction of one nonviolent misdemeanor, five years after the date of the conviction or when any active sentence, period of probation, or post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.

(2) For expunction of more than one nonviolent misdemeanor, seven years after the date of the person’s last conviction, other than a traffic offense not listed in the petition for expunction, or seven years after any active sentence, period of probation, or post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.

(3) For expunction of one nonviolent felony, 10 years after the date of the conviction or 10 years after any active sentence, period of probation, or post-release supervision has been served, whichever occurs later.

If an individual has been previously granted an expunction for a nonviolent felony or nonviolent misdemeanor, then they are not eligible for an expunction under the new law.

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-145.5 (a), the term “nonviolent misdemeanor” or “nonviolent felony” means any misdemeanor or felony except the following:

(1) A Class A through G felony or a Class A1 misdemeanor.

(2) An offense that includes assault as an essential element of the offense.

(3) An offense requiring registration pursuant to Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, whether or not the person is currently required to register.

(4) Any of the following sex-related or stalking offenses: G.S. 14-27.25(b), 14-27.30(b), 14-190.7, 14-190.8, 14-190.9, 14-202, 14-208.11A, 14-208.18, 14-277.3, 14-277.3A, 14-321.1.

(5) Any felony offense in Chapter 90 of the General Statutes where the offense involves methamphetamines, heroin, or possession with intent to sell or deliver or sell and deliver

cocaine.

(6) An offense under G.S. 14-12.12(b), 14-12.13, or 14-12.14, or any offense for which punishment was determined pursuant to G.S. 14-3(c).

(7) An offense under G.S. 14-401.16.

(7a) An offense under G.S. 14-54(a), 14-54(a1), or 14-56.

(8) Any felony offense in which a commercial motor vehicle was used in the commission of the offense.

(8a) An offense involving impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a).

(9) Any offense that is an attempt to commit an offense described in subdivisions (1) through (8a) of this subsection.

If you or a loved one has a criminal record in New Hanover (including Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach), Pender (including Hampstead and Burgaw), or Brunswick County (including Bolivia, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Shallotte, Leland, and Southport), and are interested in having your record expunged, please give us a call for a confidential consultation. Mr. Collins has been successfully handling expunctions for over 20 years.

By Karen M. Thompson, Paralegal

With the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, businesses around the globe are having to make decisions to close, whether it be temporarily or permanent.  Here in North Carolina, bars and restaurants are currently closed for dine-in, and are instead offering take out and/or delivery options.  These changes are set for at least March 31, possibly longer, depending on how the virus develops and continues to spread. 

As of today, because of COVID-19, the Wrightsville Beach Mayor and the Chief of Police have decided to close all of the public beach accesses.  Surf City has also made the announcement that they have closed their public beach accesses.   

Carolina Beach officials followed in the same fashion at a meeting this afternoon, and called a State of Emergency and decided to also close their public beach accesses.  These decisions have been made to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our area, especially now that there have been 3 positive test results from our area.  

Wrightsville Beach, Surf City, and Carolina Beach are all popular destinations for tourists and locals – other beaches in our area include Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Kure Beach, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Surf City, Sunset Beach, and Topsail Island.  However, officials in North Carolina are strongly urging residents strongly suggest against non-essential travel at this time and many vacation rental agency discuss flexible cancellation and date moving requests due to Covid19.  And, North Carolina’s welcome centers have been closed until at least April 1, 2020.

In the midst of information about the spreading of the virus or new precautions, unfortunately, false claims are spread promising ways to prevent an infection or even kill the virus, like inhaling hot air from a hair dryer, or gargling with warm water and salt or vinegar.  Please always consider the source of information and check with a healthcare professional before turning to self-remedies.  

By Karen M. Thompson, Paralegal

New Hanover County was founded in 1729 and was named after the House of Hanover.  It has an estimated population of 228,657 as of 2019.  

New Hanover County is known for its history – two of the biggest historic attractions are the Fort Fisher State Historic Site and the USS North Carolina. The Fort Fisher Battlefield is located in Fort Fisher. At Fort Fisher, visitors have a chance to get up close and see where the Battle of Fort Fisher was held. Visitors can also go inside the USS North Carolina, which became one of the first ten fastest battleships to join the American Fleet in World War II.

In addition to the Fort Fisher Battlefield and the Battleship, there is historic Downtown Wilmington with its mile-long Riverwalk along the Cape Fear River. It was named “Best American Riverfront” by USA Today in 2014.  There are various local shops, and restaurants and bars, where you can watch the passersby while enjoying a nice meal or drink in this beautiful scenery. 

New Hanover County has a countless other attractions which make it a very popular location to visit in Southeastern North Carolina.  The most popular locations to visit are the beautiful beaches: Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach.  Especially when the weather is nice, visitors as well as residents enjoy these beautiful beaches and beach towns, and take advantage of countless opportunities like boating, scuba diving, and surfing—Wrightsville Beach was named one of the “World’s 20 Best Surf Towns” by National Geographic Magazine.

Usually, around this time of year, New Hanover County’s residents as well as visitors, would be preparing for the Azalea Festival, where thousands of people flock to celebrate by attending concerts, the Garden Party, art shows, and other exciting festivities.  However, for the first time in it’s 73-year history, the Azalea Festival has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By Karen M. Thompson, Paralegal

Labor Day 2019 in Southeastern North Carolina is expected to be a busy and dangerous holiday.  Being the holiday weekend that traditionally wraps up the summer season, travelers are anxious to get their last beach trip of the year started, and Star News reported yesterday that nearly one-third more fatal accidents occur on Labor Day weekend than a typical three-day period.  In 2017 alone, 354 fatal car accidents occurred during the Labor Day weekend across the United States, leaving 374 people dead.

The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) has handled over 100 crashes per Labor Day weekend for the past 3 years, with none of those ending in fatalities.  However, DWI-related stops have become more frequent each year and in 2018 alone, WPD responded to 13 DWI-related incidents in the Wilmington area.  A larger and more widespread police presence will be on duty for the holiday weekend, so drivers should continue to be cautious, use turn signals, follow the speed limits, remove distractions like texting, and never drink and drive.  More people on the road simply means more opportunities for car wrecks, and it only takes a moment of distraction to cause a life-altering accident.

In addition to an already-expected increase in traffic, with Hurricane Dorian expected to hit land in Florida early next week, there is concern that evacuees from Florida could cause more traffic congestion on I-95, and some may head our way to escape the torment of the storm.

As well as opportunities for more car accidents, plenty of families will be celebrating this Labor Day weekend, and drinking alcohol is part of many of the events.  In the revelry many people will be charged with alcohol related crimes including open container, driving while impaired or driving under the influence (DWI/DUI), fake ID or counterfeit identification, underage drinking, and aiding and abetting these and other crimes.

If you or a loved one is seriously injured in an accident, as a result of someone else’s fault or negligence, we can help you get maximum compensation, meaning money damages, for your pain and suffering, medical bills,, and lost wages.

If you are charged with any type of crime in Southeastern North Carolina, in or around Wilmington NC in New Hanover County, Brunswick County, or Pender County, call Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation about what we can do for you. In many cases, we are able to negotiate with the charging officer and the district attorney’s office to have a defendant perform volunteer service in order to have the charges dismissed.  Sometimes, that volunteer service can be served on the beach picking up trash, and helping keep our beautiful beaches clean, including Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach, Wilmington Beach, and Kure Beach.

By Karen M. Thompson, Paralegal

Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties are all experiencing mandatory water restrictions that were put into place on October 13^th due to a pipe break in Riegelwood. The Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority’s pipe supplies water to utilities to all three of these counties. This pipe break is affecting areas such as Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Leland, Wilmington, etc.

The break in the 48-inch pipe is nearly the size of a football and that break alone is causing 12.5 million gallons of raw water to spill through it daily.

One of the main reasons that Brunswick County has declared a state of emergency and is pleading with public water customers to reduce water usage is to be sure there is enough water for emergency needs such as firefighting efforts and hospital uses.

Here are a few tips on how to help conserve water:

• Limit your shower time
• Turn off water when not directly using while brushing teeth, washing hands, washing dishes, etc.
• Only run dishwashers or washing machines when you have a completely full load
• Limit the number of times you flush the toilet daily

The water flow from Kings Bluff Pump has been cut in half by the break, going from about 24 million gallons of water flow a day to nearly 12 million gallons of water a day. A temporary patch would be ideal in this situation, but they were not able to successfully patch it when attempting to on Wednesday morning.

Since the patch was unsuccessful, crews began constructing a temporary bypass on Thursday morning so that water would go around the break and allow it to keep flowing until the break itself is repaired. This project is expected to be completed sometime next week. The main delay in this repair is that the surrounding counties do not have parts that this break is requiring to fix, so they are waiting on parts to be flown in from other parts of the country.

Car washes have made attempts to save water by reducing their number of open hours each day and the city of Wilmington is holding back on street sweeping and power washing in some areas until the pipe is repaired. If you do see areas throughout the city using their irrigation systems still during this mandatory water restriction, it may be because their water comes from a pond.

Brunswick County Emergency Services are preparing for the worst and are there to help you if needed. They have 480,000 gallons of bottled water on hand, which is equivalent to four days worth of water for residents. Please be safe and make sure you follow all mandatory water restrictions in your area!

 

By Kimberlin S. Murray, Legal Assistant at Collins Law Firm

On July 4, 2012, we will celebrate the 236th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.  Many Americans consume alcohol during this celebration.

While enjoying good times with friends and family we may not forget the tragic and sobering consequences that can result by driving while impaired.

To deter drunk drivers across the entire state and remove impaired drivers from the roads, local law enforcement agencies from across the state will join the Governor’s Highway Safety Program “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” which began Friday, June 29, and continues through Sunday, July 8.  Law enforcement agencies will increase their presence at the beaches in Pender, New Hanover, and Brunswick Counties.  This will effect Surf City, Topsail Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach.

Collins Law Firm always urges people not to drive while impaired.  If you consume alcohol, we encourage you to have a designated driver or to take a taxi home.  However, if you are charged with a DWI/DUI, underage drinking, or any other crime in or around Wilmington, NC in New Hanover County, Brunswick County (Bolivia, NC), or Pender County (Burgaw, NC) and need a lawyer or attorney to represent you, call Collins Law Firm at: 910-793-9000910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

By Jana Collins, Office Manager

The Fourth of July celebration is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, hot dogs, picnics, and other parties.  Also, it is a day where many Americans will be consuming alcohol.

As North Carolinians across the state flock to the Southeastern North Carolina coast to celebrate the 4^th of July Weekend, the state has begun “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” to deter drunk drivers across the entire state and remove impaired drivers from the roads.  Operation Firecracker began Monday, June 27, and continues through Monday, July 4.

Operation Firecracker is conducted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and it coordinates the Highway Patrol, sheriff’s offices and police departments.  During this period there will be additional checkpoints and stepped up patrols that will be conducted across the state.

The Fourth of July holiday is considered one of the deadliest for highway travel.  In 2010, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, there were 205 alcohol-related automobile accidents during the Independence holiday, which resulted in six deaths.  Additionally, alcohol-related crashes also accounted for 105 injuries in the state during the same week last year.  During the 2010 “Booze It & Lose it: Operation Firecracker” campaign officers conducted more than 4,600 patrols and checkpoints, which resulted in more than 1,200 North Carolina motorists being charged with driving while impaired.

This means there will be an increased police presence at the beaches in Pender, New Hanover, and Brunswick Counties.  The beaches that will be affected will be Surf City, Topsail Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach.

Collins Law Firm always urges people not to drive while impaired.  If you consume alcohol, we encourage you to have a designated driver or to take a taxi home.  However, if you are charged with a DWI/DUI, underage drinking, or any other crime in or around Wilmington, NC in New Hanover County, Brunswick County (Bolivia, NC), or Pender County (Burgaw, NC) and need a lawyer or attorney to represent you, call Collins Law Firm at: 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

Americans were not discouraged by high gas prices, which at $3.77 a gallon was one dollar a gallon higher compared to last year, and took to the road this past weekend in enormous numbers to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend.  According to a  AAA report 34.9 million travelers journeyed at least 50 miles from home, which was an increase of 100,000 travelers compared to the same weekend last year.  The report declared that 41 percent of the people traveling in the South Atlantic region went to a beach.

In North Carolina that meant that people came to our beautiful beaches up and down the coast.  North Carolinians spent the holiday weekend at the beaches in Pender County, New Hanover County, and Brunswick County.  The beaches in our area that saw a dramatic rise in population this past weekend was Surf City, Topsail Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach.

The increase in driving led to more dangerous conditions on the roads.  The roadways going to and from the beaches had many traffic jams because so many people descended on the beaches in our part of the state.  In addition to more cars clogging the roads, people were more likely to be drinking and driving.  The North Carolina Highway Patrol announced that at least nine motorists died during the Memorial Day Weekend.  Last year, eleven motorists died and 358 people were injured in car accidents.

The Star News (Major newspaper in Wilmington, NC) published before the holiday weekend that the Wilmington Police Department would host a multi-agency traffic checking station on Sunday afternoon and evenings.  Officers involved in the operation will target impaired driving as well as underage possession of alcohol, open containers of alcohol, or failure to use seatbelts.  It is highly recommended to find experienced attorneys or lawyers to help you if you were caught in one of these checkpoints.

If you were hurt in a car accident, or you were charged with any crime or issued a traffic citation during the Memorial Day Weekend in or around Wilmington, NC scheduled for court in New Hanover County, Brunswick County (Bolivia, NC), or Pender County (Burgaw, NC), you should contact a lawyer or attorney at Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a consultation.

This weekend, April 6-10, 2011, is the 64th Annual North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington, NC, New Hanover County. The Festival is an annual celebration of Wilmington’s gardens and culture.  The festival covers five days of entertainment which includes: a parade, street fair, circus, concerts, pageantry, and all that is Southern. Beginning in 1948, the Festival has blossomed into an extended weekend celebration that attracts more than 250,000 people annually to the region including and surrounding New Hanover County, NC.
This year the festival includes a concert by the Avett Brothers!  The Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina, comprised up of brothers Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass.  When tickets went on sale for this show, they sold out within days.  The Avett brothers have quite a loyal following, and many people from around the Southeast will be coming to the Azalea Festival for the first time to see the show.
The Festival also includes the 127th annual Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars. The name refers to its dome interior which replicates a celestial nighttime sky. Billed as “the world’s largest circus under the big top,” the circus boasts costumed characters, acrobatics, death-defying stunts and an international cast of entertainers with their trained and exotic animals. However, the circus comes with some controversy.  According to bornfreeusa.org, the Cole Brothers Circus has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Cole Bros. Circus numerous times for failure to provide veterinary care, adequate shelter from the elements, and proper food and water, as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and harm and ensures public safety.  In past years, protesters have greeted patrons at the entrance of the parking lots with pictures of animal cruelty related to the circus.  This year, the protesters will also likely be back.
While the Azalea Festival is a fun family friendly event, drinking alcohol is part of many of the events, and in the revelry many people will be charged with alcohol related crimes including open container, driving while impaired  or driving under the influence (DWI/DUI), fake i.d. or counterfeit identification, underage drinking, and aiding and abetting these and other crimes.
If you are charged with any type of crime in our area, call Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a consultation about what we can do for you. In many cases, we are able to negotiate with the charging officer and the district attorney’s office to have a defendant perform volunteer service in order to have the charges dismissed.  Sometimes, that volunteer service can be served on the beach picking up trash, and helping keep our beautiful beaches clean, including Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach, Wilmington Beach, and Kure Beach.

Spring is here, and people across the Southeast are thinking about going to the beaches in Southeastern North Carolina and planning trips.  We have beautiful beaches in our area.  In New Hanover County, there is Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Wilmington Beach, and Kure Beach. In Pender County, there is Surf City and Topsail Island.  In Brunswick County, there is Sunset Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island, Caswell Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach.

There are many efforts to prevent littering, and many make the news in our region.  In Wrightsville Beach, the Cleaner, Greener Wrightsville Beach committee has proposed a list of ideas to help prevent littering.  They proposed the following steps:  to develop a visual image for regular signage and holiday banners to remind visitors to keep Wrightsville Beach clean; create a logo that can be included on T-shirts (possibly signage and banners, too) to identify beach sweep volunteers and solicit volunteers to educating the public about cleaner, greener efforts; color code recycling containers and consider additional recycle locations on the beach strand; maintain the Green Tab on the town’s website through IT manager, Raquel Ivins; work with the Wrightsville Beach Merchants Association and Mayor David Cignotti coordinating with their litter awareness efforts; and study and use results of the Cleaner Greener Survey in developing ideas and plans.

Another program is North Carolina Big Sweep.  They finished first in the voting in the MillerCoors River Network competition.  The first prize is a $30,000 grant.  The statewide non-profit group says the money will be used to coordinate cleanups in all 100 counties in North Carolina and to implement a litter awareness campaign.  WWAY has partnered with Big Sweep on annual beach clean-up programs in the area.

Our beaches are beautiful, and we should all help to alleviate littering.  Littering on most of our beaches is a crime – a misdemeanor, and a conviction for littering can remain on one’s criminal record for life unless steps are taken to prevent it.   If you are charged with littering, or any other crime in our area, Collins Law Firm can help prevent the consequences of being charged, such as court appearances, and convictions and the subsequent consequences of a conviction such as fines, court costs, probation, etc.  We have been doing so for over a decade.

One way we often help avoid convictions for such crimes as littering is to negotiate with law enforcement and the district attorney’s office to have a client perform a number of hours of volunteer service.  Often that volunteer service can be picking up litter on the beach.

If you have been charged with littering, or any other crime in our area, call Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a consultation about what we can do for you.