By Elspeth Crawford Statutes of limitations are laws that set deadlines after which a lawsuit based on specified crimes may not be filed. The point of statutes of limitations is to guard against the corruption of evidence, the decay of memory, and to encourage potential plaintiffs to resolve issues in the courts as quickly and efficiently as possible. Tolling of the Statute of Limitations and Statutes of Repose. Statutes of limitations do not necessarily begin to run directly after the crime in question occurs. There are certain circumstances under which the statute of limitations is tolled until the happening of a later event. These include:
Note, however, that in addition to statutes of limitations some crimes are also governed by statutes of repose, laws which impose cut-off dates much in the manner of statutes of limitations but which are not affected by the Discovery Rule. In our medical malpractice example above, the statute of repose begins to run when the accident occurred, even if the statute of limitation did not start to run until its discovery. When filing a lawsuit, be sure to consult your attorney concerning statutes of limitations, statutes of repose, and how the two interact with each other. Exceptions. There are a few crimes and situations to which statutes of limitations do not apply. These include:
Sample Statutes of Limitations. The lengths of statutes of limitations differ state-by-state and action-by-action. Here is a list of some common ones with accompanying limitations periods: Negligence for personal injury: 1 to 2 years. Breach of oral contract: 2 to 6 years. Breach of written contract: 3 to 6 years. Fraud or mistake: 3 to 6 years from date of discovery. Property damage: 2 to 10 years. Collection of federal income taxes: 10 years. Copyright infringement: 3 years. If you'd like to speak to an attorney regarding the North Carolina Statute of Limitations, contact Adkins Law. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville, North Carolina and primarily serves Mecklenburg County and the Lake Norman area.
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The concept of confirmation bias occurs when a bias unconsciously influences the outcome of a test or observation. Instead of conducting a test objectively, someone is selectively looking for information or clues to confirm their pre-existing beliefs and hypotheses. Why is confirmation bias important in DWIs? Confirmation bias can play a large factor in a DWI arrest. Police officers are graded on their productivity. This is what drives most police officers to take more enforcement action. Knowing they have to be productive to meet their unspoken quotas, officers are often proactive in their enforcement activities. Consider a police officer that gets behind a vehicle, runs the tag, and discovers the driver has had previous DWI convictions. Based on the driver’s record, the officer may assume the driver to be intoxicated. The police officer will look harder for a reason to justify a traffic stop. If the officer is able to initiate the traffic stop, that officer will immediately begin to look for signs of impairment, which may or may not be there. In a situation such as this, typically, the officer will request the driver to submit to a roadside breath test. This is usually conducted before any standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) are conducted. The reason for this is because the officer knows it isn’t worth his time to conduct SFSTs if the driver doesn’t blow above a 0.08 during the roadside breath test. Often, an officer won’t initiate SFSTs unless the driver is above a 0.10 roadside. The officer knows that once they place the subject under arrest and transport them for their evidentiary breath test, their BAC may drop. The average person’s BAC drops between 0.015 to 0.018 per hour. Although this technique, which is very commonly used, is not recommended by NHTSA, it is extremely effective. The officer will both save time and quickly determine whether the traffic stop will yield a DWI arrest. The problem is that a preliminary roadside breath test creates confirmation bias during the SFSTs. If the driver blows over a 0.08 during the preliminary breath test, the officer will look hard while conducting the SFSTs to find the clues he needs for arrest. Not only is this not good practice, the entire SFST battery will be jaded. The officer will not be conducting the tests objectively, but will be looking a reason to justify the arrest, whether one truly exists or not. Often, if confirmation bias can be established, the probable cause for the arrest may be negated. If the probable cause for the arrest is negated, the DWI charge may be dismissed. If you have more questions concerning confirmation bias in a DWI arrest, contact a DWI lawyer. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville NC and primarily serves Mecklenburg County and the Lake Norman area. If you need to speak with a DWI attorney in Huntersville NC, contact Adkins Law to schedule an appointment with a DWI lawyer. An underage drinking ticket in Mecklenburg County may have serious implications on your future. A police officer may issue a drinking ticket to an underage person if they have probable cause that the underage person has any amount of alcohol in their system, no matter how little. Typically, the officer will administer an Alcosensor breath test to the teenager. This instrument is able to give the officer a reading of how much, if any, alcohol is in the teenager’s system. Any positive results on the Alcosensor may be enough is issue a drinking citation to a teenager. Even if the police officer doesn’t use an Alcosensor, all the police officer needs to establish probable cause is observation. If the police officer can testify that a teenager appeared to be under the influence of alcohol because they were unstable on their feet, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and / or the odor of alcohol on the breath and person, the police officer has enough evidence to issue a citation, or make an arrest, for underage drinking. If you were issued a citation for underage drinking, it is highly recommended that you consult with a criminal lawyer. A lawyer may be able to negotiate a deal with the state to have your charges dismissed. Typically, a teenager charged with underage drinking is eligible to complete a drug education school to receive this dismissal. A lawyer will be able to appear in court on your behalf and negotiate this without you ever having to go to court. Once the class has been completed and you have received a dismissal, you need to speak with your criminal attorney about obtaining an expunction. If you’re eligible, an expunction will erase all records of you having been charged with the offense. This is very important for teenagers applying to colleges and seeking jobs. If you would like to speak with a criminal attorney concerning an underage drinking ticket in Mecklenburg County, contact Adkins Law. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville, and primarily serves Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and the Lake Norman area. |
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