Another good reason to leave those signs alone. In defense of the boy, McCain signs are probably pretty rare in the Chapel Hill area…
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Signs, part II
Some anecdotal evidence in my neighborhood suggests that both Obama and McCain signs are being taken out of people's yards. I'll put aside the ethical implications and confine myself to the legal. Whoever does this can be held liable for civil trespass and conversion of personal property and possibly criminal trespass and theft. Probably small […]
If it walks like an Elephant, talks like an Elephant, looks like an Elephant, why can’t it say it’s an Elephant?
After the last post, I had a question as to how to find out what political party the candidates for Judge were. The bad news is it is a bit difficult, but the good news is it probably doesn't matter a great deal. Since 2002, judges in North Carolina have run in non-partisan elections, meaning that […]
CORRECTION: Who Do I vote For?
In my last post I incorrectly identified Bob Hunter as the incumbent when it is in fact Judge John Arrowood. I have edited and corrected the original post and apologize to the candidates.
Who do I vote for?
North Carolina is one of the few states left who still elect judges. Even well-informed people who can discuss the particulars of economic stimulus packages and can pronounce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, turn to me in confusion as to who they need to vote for the North Carolina Supreme Court, North Carolina Court of Appeals, and the […]
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign…
‘Tis the season when those political candidate signs spring up like mushrooms around neighborhoods and commercial districts throughout the land. Although signs and posters are considered "speech" under the 1st Amendment and therefore cannot be banned by the government, some permissible restrictions have been allowed. Check your city or county ordinances here to see if […]
Oak Island Annexation
Annexation issues are a niche speciality of my partner, Wes Hodges. He has just been hired to fight an annexation attempt by the town of Oak Island. He fought sucessfully against the town in a similar attempt a few years ago, taking that case up to the North Carolina Supreme Court. I’ll try to pick […]
Can they fire me for that!?!
Happy Labor Day! In honor of the holiday, I thought I would write briefly about what claims an employee has when he gets fired. Having a claim for getting illegally fired, or "wrongfully terminated" is difficult in North Carolina as it is a "right to work" state. The basic concept of all employment in North […]
Rights of a Renter and Duties of a Landlord
Almost 1 million people in North Carolina are renting their house or apartment. Even though they are not the owners of where they live, it is their home. As such, it is very important to them. As somebody who has a home, but doesn’t own that home, what rights do they have? Your lease […]
Take the money and run
This article is the preview of a study that reports that the Plaintiffs bringing a lawsuit are far more likely to be wrong in turning down a settlement and proceeding to trial than Defendants. Plaintiffs were "wrong" in 61% of the cases that went to trial. "Wrong" meaning that the Plaintiff would have gotten more […]
Represent Yourself in Small Claims Court
“Anyone who represents themselves in court has a fool for a client and an idiot for a lawyer!” The Courthouse is a pretty intimidating place for someone not familiar with it. Police in uniform, lawyers in business suits, and judges in dark robes mingle and converse in legal code words that sometimes don’t seem to […]
N.C. Medical Board takes a positive step
Both the legal profession and the medical profession are to a certain degree self-regulating. They both have non-governmental, independant bodies that establish rules, guidelines and professional ethics for their members. However, the organization governing lawyers, the North Carolina State Bar, has been far more active historically in disiplining its members than the corresponding medical organization. […]
Medical Malpractice pays well–for insurance companies
This article from the N&O up in the big city of Raleigh (motto: Where Barney Fife goes to Party), is just one piece of evidence that any medical malpractice "crises" is simply not accurate. First, consider that North Carolina has mostly resisted the radical "tort reform" wave that is sweeping the county. Despite that, the […]
What to do in a Car Accident
There were hundreds of car accidents in North Carolina last year. Many of those accidents were caused by the negligence or lack of ordinary care by one or both of the drivers. If you are involved in a car accident, what should you do? First, prepare for a car accident before it happens. […]
The Insurance Company Cookbook
This is an interesting article regarding one attorney’s perspective on dealing with insurance companies in personal injury cases. In You are Not in Good Hands with Allstate the author talks about how Allstate and some other insurance companies use a computer program called "Colossus" to determine the minimum they would have to pay a claimant […]
Negotiate in odd numbers
Here is an interesting article in Scientific American called Why Things Cost $19.95 that investigates whether or not the common merchant tactic of listing a price as $19.95 rather than $20.00 is really effective. Marketing professors from the University of Florida studied how consumers relate a ticketed price to the perceived wholesale "cost" of a […]
The Real Estate Contract–An Overview
The growth of southeastern North Carolina has resulted in a local real estate boom never before seen in the area and continues despite the real estate slow down in the rest of the county. An unfortunate side effect of the dramatic increase in both real estate transactions and property values has been a corresponding explosion […]