After declaring from the bench that two parents in a child-custody dispute were “acting like idiots,” Durham District Judge James Hill should be publicly reprimanded, according to the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission. In court filings that were recently made public, the commission declared that Hill’s actions constituted conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that […]
John H. Tucker
Bio: John H. Tucker is a staff writer for INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/JH_Tucker
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Obama offers clemency to four North Carolinians
Four North Carolinians are among the 46 federal inmates whose nonviolent, drug-related prison sentences were commuted today by President Obama. Two of the N.C. offenders were serving life sentences. “I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong, and change your life for the better,” Obama wrote in a personal letter to each offender. […]
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Court of Appeals orders Durham judge to reconsider whether defendant’s Miranda waiver was voluntary
The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that a Durham teenager accused of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer may have voluntarily waived his Miranda rights at a local emergency room, even though he was under the influence of the powerful painkiller Fentanyl. The case will receive a new hearing. We covered […]
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Court of Appeals affirms Crystal Mangum’s murder conviction
The N.C. Court of Appeals today issued an opinion affirming Crystal Mangum’s conviction for the second-degree murder of her boyfriend following a 2013 trial. Mangum gained notoriety in 2006 for falsely accusing members of Duke University’s lacrosse team of rape, after she was hired to strip during a fraternity party. Mangum and her boyfriend, Reginald […]
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Durham prosecutors will not bring charges against Duke student accused of rape
CORRECTION: The fraternity involved in the allegation was Alpha Delta Phi, not Alpha Phi Delta Durham prosecutors will not bring charges against a Duke student accused of rape at a fraternity party earlier this year, District Attorney Roger Echols announced yesterday. In January, Durham police began an investigation into a rape accusation alleged to have […]
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The next LGBTQ battleground: the workplace
The attacker’s fist felt like a lead pipe crushing the back of her neck. Suddenly Inez Aguilar was on the ground, absorbing a flurry of punches and kicks. After passing out, the 33-year-old awoke in an ambulance en route to Rex Hospital. She had a broken rib, damaged eye socket and concussion, she recalls. The […]
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Bree Newsome speaks about her removal of Confederate flag
Bree Newsome, the North Carolina woman who on Saturday removed the Confederate flag from its pole in front of the South Carolina State Capitol, released her first statement since her arrest. “The morning after the Charleston Massacre, I realized I had been shaken to the core of my being. I couldn’t sleep. I sat awake […]
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Escaped inmate captured (no, not that one)
David Sweat, the inmate whose prison escape in New York led to a three-week manhunt that ended yesterday near the Canadian border, wasn’t the only prisoner on the lam this weekend. In North Carolina, law enforcement officials were also in search for a convicted murderer who escaped Friday evening from the Brown Creek Correctional Institution, […]
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Hillsborough robber steals money, leaves note of apology
A crook with a conscience? The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that a thief in Hillsborough broke into an unlocked car on the 1400 block of Ainsworth Boulevard yesterday. $283 in cash was missing. The thief left a note, evidently directed to law enforcement. “Sorry for stealing the money,” it read, “but it […]
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“Good Samaritans” will not be punished for reporting underage drinking overdoses
Amendments to North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law—S.L. 2015-94—have been enacted to offer protection for underage drinkers and their friends who call 911 to report alcohol poisoning. Beginning Aug. 1, the victim of alcohol poisoning as well as the 911 caller will be protected from underage drinking prosecution if they call for help. The Good Samaritan […]