Under North Carolina law, “marijuana” is a controlled substance defined to exclude legal hemp. Following the 2018 federal Farm Bill, NC amended its statutes to align with the 0.3% THC threshold. Specifically, hemp is defined as cannabis (any part of the plant, including derivatives) with ≤0.3% delta-9 THC by dry…
In any marijuana vs hemp drug prosecution, the State bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the substance involved exceeds North Carolina’s legal THC limit of 0.3%, thereby making it illegal marijuana and not lawful hemp. In the recent case State v. Ruffin, the North Carolina Court…
The North Carolina Court of Appeals’ recent decision in State v. Ruffin, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Mar. 5, 2025), provides guidance on marijuana identification in the post-hemp era. The defendant in Ruffin was convicted of multiple drug offenses, including the sale and delivery of marijuana, arising from a controlled buy…
As hip-hop mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs heads to trial on federal sex trafficking charges, a critical question looms: can he get an impartial jury despite his fame and the salacious allegations? This is no ordinary case – nearly everyone has heard of P. Diddy. The worry is that half…
Witnesses with specialized knowledge beyond that of a jury may in appropriate circumstances provide “expert testimony” in North Carolina. DWI (Driving While Impaired) charges in North Carolina regularly include evidence like breathalyzer results, blood tests, and standardized field sobriety tests. Given the scientific, forensic, and at times highly technical aspects…
Prosecutors and defense attorneys regularly rely on expert witnesses to explain evidence that benefits from specialized knowledge. That may involve reviewing things like breath and blood testing procedures, DUI retrograde extrapolation, accident reconstruction, and medical conditions that could affect impairment assessments. This article examines the different types of experts used…
Refusing a breath test in North Carolina triggers a separate, civil administrative legal process known as a willful refusal hearing. Even while a criminal DWI charge is pending in criminal court, the Department of Transportation – Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may move forward with revoking your license for failing…
Expert testimony can play a pivotal role in DUI charges in North Carolina. In part, that’s because allegations of impaired driving often involve complicated scientific, forensic evidence and technical procedures—such as chemical breath tests, blood alcohol analyses, and field sobriety testing—that lay jurors or even judges may not fully understand.…
While breath testing is often the go-to method for measuring a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC), certain situations call for blood testing in a DWI case. Law enforcement may suspect drug involvement, or the driver may be unable (or unwilling) to provide a valid breath sample on an approved device.…
North Carolina’s DWI enforcement relies heavily on evidentiary breath tests to determine whether a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds the legal limit. While officers may perform preliminary roadside screening with a handheld device, the real focal point often comes from the Intoximeter EC/IR II machine. This desktop breath-testing device…