If you’re a motorist in North Carolina, it’s important to know the traffic offenses that could lead to a ticket. Traffic tickets, including those issued due to infractions, can result in higher insurance rates, revocation or indefinite suspension of your license, and possibly a misdemeanor or felony charges. Here are the top four offenses that could net you a traffic ticket.
Unpaid traffic tickets, an accumulation of points from several violations, and tickets for certain high-risk violations could cause a suspended or a revoked license. Suspensions can involve added charges and additional legal trouble if drivers operate after their suspension.
All drivers should understand the risks and know where to go for help for different causes of suspension.
Suspensions from Unpaid Tickets
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in any state in the U.S. can suspend the license of any driver who chooses not to pay the fee for a traffic violation. A speeding ticket received during a visit to another state may seem too minor to worry about once back home, but the Driver License Compact makes ignoring it impossible.
Have you been arrested but cannot afford to pay the bail necessary to go home while you await your court date? The bail system that is part of the U.S. judicial process can sometimes become a heavy burden for a defendant of lesser means. If this includes you, though, don’t lose hope of returning to your normal life while you defend yourself against charges. Why?
The answer is that you may still be able to get your bail reduced through a hearing. Here are a few key things to know about such a hearing.
Can You Get Bail Reduced?
The U.S. Constitution prohibits the use of excessive bail but does not give a strict interpretation of what counts as excessive. Generally, the law has defined an excessive amount as so high that a person is essentially forced to stay in jail. If you cannot raise the funds to meet your own bail, then, you may argue that yours is excessive.
Accusations of a crime can severely impact a person’s life. It can affect your job, your personal life, and your ability to rent an apartment or buy a home. One of the more serious accusations is the crime of assault. If you have been falsely accused of assault, then you need to contact a lawyer immediately.
Take immediate action to prove your innocence of these charges. Here are the steps to take if you are falsely accused of assault in North Carolina.
Gather Evidence and Document Everything
Gathering evidence and documenting everything that happened during and after the alleged assault is vital to your defense. Sit down and write out everything you remember about the incident that lead to the accusation. This includes any witnesses that may have been around.
Rear-end accidents, or fender benders, are the most common car accident in the United States. Estimates put the frequency at about 1.7 million per year. In small fender benders, only the vehicle suffers any major damage. However, about one-third of those accidents result in injury, and up to 1,700 result in death.
Typically, the majority of fender benders also result in at least a ticket, if not some other legal action. Find out how liability is determined in such accidents.
Main Causes of Rear-End Accidents
Understanding liability in fender benders starts with knowing how they are caused. In short, distracted driving causes most rear-end accidents. Cell phones account for a lot of the distraction. However, other distractions such as the car radio or passengers can also cause drivers to miss the fact they’re about to plow into the car in front of them.
Many people accidentally break a few minor ones here and there, such as driving a few miles over the speed limit. These criminal infractions don’t usually lead to big consequences, such as time in prison, but they can cost you a lot of money. If you are worried about criminal infractions, check out these commonly asked questions to learn more, so you can better protect yourself.
What Is a Criminal Infraction?
A criminal infraction can also be considered a petty crime. It’s usually done on accident and/or doesn’t cause any injury or damages. In most cases, a criminal infraction doesn’t include any jail time. It, however, will likely include fines.
In the state of North Carolina, driving is considered a privilege, not a right. For this reason, people can have their licenses revoked or suspended.
If this has happened to you, you’re probably desperate to get your license back. When you’ll be able to do so, however, depends on various circumstances, such as why your license was originally suspended or revoked and what has happened since then.
Since getting your license back can be rather complex, hire legal counsel to assist you. Also, make sure that you understand the specifics of your situation fully and that you follow a few basic tips.
Panhandling is a fact of life. People who are down on their luck or unable to work may take to busy intersections, shopping malls, or grocery stores to ask the public for money. They may use signs or simply walk up to people and ask for some spare change. Most people have witnessed panhandling at one point.
In some North Carolina cities, recent rules have made the act of handing money to a panhandler illegal in some situations. Fayetteville is one of those cities. If you have been accused of either soliciting money or giving money to a panhandler, read on to learn more.
The judge makes decisions regarding criminal sentences. Whether you plea out of court or go to trial and receive a guilty verdict, the judge determines your punishment and how long it will last. In order to show the judge your character, you may provide the judge with a character letter. If you believe you may use this technique in the hopes it will influence your sentence, read on.
Why Should You Use a Character Letter?
Character letters provide several benefits. First, the character letter should provide a full view of your sense of character beyond the crime of which the court has convicted you. The individual writing on your behalf seeks to demonstrate that your character isn’t as simple as the crime.
In the midst of a fight with a spouse, you may say and do things that you regret later. In the meantime, you may face criminal charges linked to domestic violence. One crime associated with domestic violence is false imprisonment. If you are facing charges of false imprisonment, keep reading to learn more about North Carolina’s laws.
What Is False Imprisonment of a Spouse?
In North Carolina, false imprisonment is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The law associates the crime with the intentional, nonconsensual, and unlawful restraining of another person. While many people consider false imprisonment to involve tying someone up or locking somebody inside a room, it does not always happen this way.