Let me start by saying this. I love lawyers. I am one. I am a former president of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), an association of criminal defense, personal injury, and family law lawyers. Some of my best friends are lawyers. The profession as a whole is comprised…
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees defendants charged with a crime the right to legal counsel. The North Carolina State Constitution reinforces that protection in Article I, Section 23 Declaration of Rights. A lot of folks facing a criminal allegation assume that legal right is absolute. As…
In the recent appellate decision of North Carolina v. Escalante (also cited as State v. Escalante), No. COA25-64, filed December 17, 2025, the North Carolina Court of Appeals examined whether the defendant had the legal right, known as standing, to challenge the legality of electronic surveillance used in his arrest.…