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Misdemeanor Arrests:
Multiple Choice Edition
Legal Question of the Week

Vol. 1, Number 5
July 25, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Avid Test Taker and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

            Alright kids – get out your #2 pencils and remember that the bubbles should be filled out completely but do not go outside the lines. ¹  This week’s question deals with misdemeanor arrests and when they may be done without an arrest warrant.  To give you a fighting chance, this is a multiple choice exam.  Stay tuned at the end for a word about the arcane magic known as DNA and a new and effective interrogation technique.  There may even be a money saving tip thrown in for good measure. Read More

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Drunks Drive The Best Cars:
A Look At DWI Vehicle Seizures
Legal Question of the Week

Vol. 1, Number 4
July 18, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Used Car Expert and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

            Once upon a time, our esteemed legislators in Raleigh climbed to the top of the capitol building ¹ and surveyed this great State over which they ruled.  All was right in the land (this was before $4 gas) and they wondered what they would do to pass the remaining days they had in session.  “Perhaps we should give law enforcement officers more money and a generous raise to State employees,” one suggested.  “That would be okay, I guess,” answered another, “but why don’t we get into the used car business instead?”  Excited about living the dream, these patriots got right to work determining how they could seize automobiles from that upper-class segment of society called “the drunks.”

            When I was a prosecutor in Durham, I was tasked with the job of handling the very first DWI seizures and forfeitures.  Apparently, I had done something to REALLY tick off the boss.  Back then, this legislation was so well written that everybody knew that vehicles could be seized, but there was no process in place to hold them, sell them, scrap them, or have Vinny strip them for parts.  The result was that the local school boards were now the proud caretakers of sometimes hundreds of vehicles in various states of disrepair.  And who says our friends in Raleigh don’t care about the school system?

            The law has been modified now and for the most part a lot of those early shortcomings have been corrected.  But sometimes it can get complicated to apply when out in the field.  Let’s look at the law of DWI vehicle seizures… Read More

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           Welcome to the “Legal Question of the Week” bulletin.  Each week, I choose the best legal question I’ve been asked and share my advice on it.  This week’s questions have been mostly inappropriate (“Hey Brian, is it true you’re so ugly that when your mama dropped you off at school, she got a ticket for littering?!”) so I’ve decided to create the Ten Commandments of Testifying and discuss them with myself.

            Speaking of ugly, I once got a grand jury to indict John Doe for the felony of Assault With A Deadly Weapon, to wit:  the ugly stick, Inflicting Serious Injury.  I attached a copy of the alleged victim’s photograph.  The grand jury took one look and declared that it was a capital offense.

            Okay, so that’s not true at all, but I’ve had probable cause for the charge dozens of times.  The rest of this bulletin, on the other hand, is very, very true.

 The Ten Commandments of Testifying

            Those of you who dealt with me during my days as a prosecutor several weeks ago probably did so when called to testify as a witness.  Over my eleven years as an Assistant District Attorney, I have tried countless cases in both District Court and Superior Court.  I have seen police officers make horrible, embarrassing witnesses, and I have seen police officers win cases single-handedly by simply telling the truth in a clear, engaging, and professional matter.  Most of the time, I may not know what I’m talking about – this is not one of those times. Read More

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What’s That Noise?
Legal Question of the Week
Vol. 1, Number 2 

Brian Beasley
Patriot and Current Legal Adviser, HPPD 

            Welcome to the “Legal Question of the Week ¹” bulletin – Independence Day Edition.  Each week, I choose the best legal question I’ve been asked and share my advice on it.  This week’s bulletin comes with a bonus!  Stay tuned to the end for an update on the very complex world of “pyrotechnics law.”

            Here’s this week’s question:

Brian, How Do You Interpret The Noise Ordinance?  Read More