Emma Dill with Wilmington StarNews reports that there is a statewide effort to spotlight the significance of local trails, greenways, and blueways in North Carolina, deeming 2023 as the “Year of the Trail.” As New Hanover County continues to grow, the “Year of the Trail” campaign is making an impact in Wilmington with the addition of numerous local trailways – ranging in location from downtown Wilmington to Kure Beach- that are currently in the works. The progress of these trails is all at different stages, however, all trails are focusing on supplying more links for cyclists and pedestrians within New Hanover County.

According to the official campaign website, this is the “largest statewide celebration of trails and outdoor recreation in North Carolina history.” Campaign efforts are led by the Great Trails State Coalition, and their objectives include boosting outdoor recreation tourism, advancing diversity and inclusion on trails, demonstrating the importance of trails to elected officials, and promoting the safe and responsible usage of trails. The “Year of the Trail” has brought five local trailways for New Hanover County locals to be on the lookout for.

The Downtown Trail has been approved and funded for the design of Phase 1, however, construction for the trail has yet to be funded so the timeline is uncertain. This trail is estimated to cost $3.5 million and extend 5.9 miles long, linking downtown Wilmington with Northside, Love Grove, and Forest Hills neighborhoods.

The Masonboro Road Loop Trail is currently in construction Phase 1 and is projected to extend 1.4 miles with an estimated budget of $2.5 million. This trail links Navaho Trail to Pine Grove along Masonboro Loop Road and Phase 2 of construction is projected to start next year. 

The Greenville Loop Road Trail has 4 separate phases that vary in stages of completion. With a budget of $6.8 million, this trail will be 4.4 miles, link South College Road with Oleander Drive along Greenville Loop Road, and construction is projected to begin in Spring 2023.

The Pleasure Island Greenway was proposed to link Kure Beach town limits with Fort Fisher and the Southport Ferry Terminal, stretching 4.8 miles long. This greenway will not have an official budget and timeline for completion until the feasibility study is completed.

Across the bridge in Brunswick County, the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor is under works, but there is much uncertainty regarding completion until the feasibility study is completed. If approved, the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor will extend for 22 miles linking Navassa with Southport and other areas in Brunswick County.

By Bryanna Gordon, Legal Assistant

News reports say jury selection has begun in the murder trial for former attorney Alex Murdaugh in Walterboro, S.C.  Before the beginning of jury selection, Murdaugh’s defense lawyers had already filed a motion seeking to block testimony on potential blood evidence.  Mr. Murdaugh is charged in the June 7, 2021, murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their youngest son, Paul.  Murdaugh had told investigators that he returned to the family’s property in rural Colleton County to discover the bodies near dog kennels.

Murdaugh was wearing a white t-shirt when he arrived at the property, and that t-shirt has become a point of contention between the state and Murdaugh’s defense team after the latter has said forensic tests failed to show stains on the shirt were from human blood.

Attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin asked the court to suppress the testimony of Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Kenneth Lee Kinsey, an expert in bloodstain evidence. The defense attorneys argued that Kinsey said after reviewing a report and analysis from Thomas Bevel, a prosecution witness, he could not form an opinion on whether the blood stains on Murdaugh’s shirt were consistent with back spatter from a gunshot.

This is a very high profile case because Murdaugh had previously been a well-known attorney in Eastern South Carolina.

By David B. Collins, Jr.

Mark Ezzell, the director of the NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program, stated “If you plan on going out and celebrating the holiday season, make sure you plan ahead to have a sober driver take you home. If you drive impaired, you have a lot to lose. Not only could you kill yourself or someone else, you could be facing thousands of dollars in court costs and fines, jail time, and a revoked driver’s license.”

From December 12^th, 2022, to January 1^st, 2023, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is running their “Booze It & Lose It” holiday campaign. The campaign will consist of increased patrols and checkpoints in an effort to apprehend impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel.

The 2021 “Booze It & Lose It” campaign data from the North Carolina Department of Transportation reflects that New Hanover County had a total of 25 checkpoints and patrols and 46 total DWI arrests, Pender County had a total of 51 checkpoints and patrols and 14 total DWI arrests, and Brunswick County had a total of 18 checkpoints and patrols and 37 total DWI arrests.

As of December 2022, there has been a total of 432 alcohol or drug-related accidents resulting in deaths. The ”Booze It & Lose It” campaign targets impaired drivers in an effort to prevent that total from increasing before the beginning of the new year.

The NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program recommends travelers stay safe on the roads this holiday season by following a few simple tips:

• Do not drive impaired and plan ahead by obtaining a sober driver
• Wear your seatbelt when riding in any seat in the vehicle
• Follow the speed limit

Should you or someone you know receive criminal charges resulting from driving while impaired or any traffic law violation in New Hanover, Pender, or Brunswick Counties, call Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation about what we can do to help you.

By Cheyenne M. Hensley, Legal Assistant

With the celebration of Halloween, the holiday season begins.  According to the Highway Safety Program, Halloween is among the most dangerous times a year for traffic accidents.  Halloween parties and trick-or-treat events invite individuals to come out, and the chances for drunk driving and pedestrian accidents increase. 

With the statewide Booze It & Lose It campaign which began on October 24, 2022, and will last through October 31, 2022, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program is aiming to discourage drivers from operating a car after consuming alcohol.   There will be increased law enforcement patrolling our roads, and sobriety checkpoints will be set up.

It is very dangerous to drive distracted or impaired.  But especially on Halloween with excited kids darting out in the middle of the street or simply crossing without looking, all drivers should be vigilant, keep their eyes on the road and be prepared to stop.

If you plan to go out and enjoy alcoholic beverages, please have a designated driver, use a taxi, Uber, or Lyft.  Please make sure not to turn a good time into a tragedy for yourself or others.

Also keep in mind, a charge of driving while impaired can be expensive. People charged with DWI can lose their license and may have to pay thousands of dollars in court fees and increased insurance premiums.

Have a good time this weekend and be safe!

By Jana H. Collins

This week, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is focusing on their new campaign, “Operation Stop Arm,” in the midst of National School Bus Safety Week. The goal of Operation Stop Arm is to get students to school safer and to raise awareness for school bus safety laws through educational and enforcement measures.

Every day, there are approximately 14,000 school buses traveling North Carolina Highways transporting an average of 795,000 students to and from school. The Highway Patrol believes many accidents involving buses and students can be prevented if drivers are more inclined to just simply pay attention.

In North Carolina, passing a stopped school bus is a Class 1 misdemeanor and if convicted, the driver will receive five points on their driver’s license and a minimum $500 fine. If a driver passes a stopped school bus and strikes a person, it is a Class I felony and a Class H felony if the driver strikes a person and that violation results in death.

Should you or someone you know receive a citation for passing a stopped school bus or another traffic citation in New Hanover, Pender, or Brunswick County, Collins Law Firm can assist you. Give us a call at 910-793-9000 for a free consultation.

By Cheyenne M. Hensley, Legal Assistant

On Monday, October 3^rd, 2022, the United States Supreme Court agreed to step into the issue of whether technology companies should have legal immunity over confrontational content posted by its users. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case alleging that YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, assisted in the aiding and abetting of the murder of an American woman in Paris during the 2015 Islamic State terrorist attacks.

While studying in France, 23-year-old Nohemi Gonzalez was dining in a restaurant when she was killed amidst a wave of terrorist attacks targeting the Bataclan concert hall. Her family is seeking to sue YouTube for allowing ISIS to convey their message using algorithms, which suggests content and videos to users based on their recently viewed content. The plaintiffs do not allege that YouTube played a direct role in Gonzalez’s killing, however, the family’s lawyers claim that YouTube knowingly allowed ISIS to recruit supporters by propagating their message and posting hundreds of radicalizing videos encouraging violence on the platform. Some of those supporters went on to conduct terrorist attacks.

The family of Nohemi Gonzalez filed their lawsuit in 2016 in federal court in northern California with the hope to pursue the claim that YouTube violated the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Anti-Terrorism Act allows individuals to sue people or entities for aiding and abetting terrorist attacks.

In 1996, Congress imposed the Communications Decency Act. A provision, also known as Section 230, was intended to protect free expression on the internet by shielding internet companies from liability for the content posted on their platforms. The law also protects internet companies from liability for removing problematic content that violates their policies.

By Cheyenne M. Hensley, Legal Assistant

It is currently illegal to use marijuana in North Carolina, but many polls show most voters support legalizing cannabis the Charlotte Observer recently reported.  A CBS News poll in April found that nearly two-thirds of Americans want marijuana or cannabis use to be legal at both the federal and state levels.  Polls conducted by SurveyUSA and Spectrum News found that 72% of North Carolina voters support the legalization of medical marijuana or cannabis. More than half of voters in North Carolina support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, according to the SurveyUSA poll. The North Carolina Senate passed a medical marijuana bill early in 2022, but it has since stalled in the NC House of Representatives The News & Observer reported recently. The bill would have allowed only those with certain ailments to use marijuana.

Even though North Carolina lawmakers have failed to reach an agreement on medical marijuana legalization, North Carolina is one of 30 states with marijuana decriminalization laws, which means some offenses do not carry the threat of jail time, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a group that advocates for the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use.

In North Carolina a new law was passed several years ago that made possession of marijuana paraphernalia a class three misdemeanor, which is less severe than a class one misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia.

The national trend for legalization continues, and only time will tell when North Carolina will join the majority of other states in the US.

By Attorney David B. Collins, Jr.

Driving While Impaired (DWI) is not limited to just alcohol. Research suggests that in instances of driving while impaired due to the use of drugs, specifically marijuana appears to have an increased rate of involvement in motor vehicle accidents. Marijuana has been identified most frequently in the blood of drivers involved in accidents, including those that resulted in fatalities. However, it can be difficult to pinpoint whether marijuana impairment plays a direct role in car accidents because the drug can be detected in bodily fluids for days and sometimes as long as a few weeks, while the symptoms of intoxication typically only last a couple of hours.

Studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggest that during the early months of 2020 and the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, driving patterns and behaviors in the United States changed significantly. Among the drivers who remained on the roads, many engaged in riskier behavior, including failure to wear seatbelts, speeding, and driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs. Another study on seriously or fatally injured car accident victims mentioned that five participating trauma centers reported almost two-thirds of drivers involved in an accident tested positive for at least one active drug, including alcohol, marijuana, and opioids between mid-March and mid-July of 2020.

Until recently, testing for drug impairment has been somewhat problematic due to limitations regarding drug-detecting technology and the lack of a consumption limit for the purposes of determining impairment. Now, a company by the name of “Gaize” has been in the process of developing a new technological device that can detect drug impairment among drivers in the United States. This new technology is the first roadside test for identifying marijuana impairment in drivers. The device consists of goggles, similar to those used in virtual reality, which detects involuntary micro-movements that transmit information about someone’s impairment or sobriety. Gaize conducts the same testing that is performed during a Standardized Field Sobriety Test and captures irrefutable video evidence of eye movement.

With marijuana use increasing dramatically in the United States, this new technology can decipher between heavy users, who may have a large amount of THC in their system but are sober, and infrequent users, who may have a very small amount of THC in their system but are extremely impaired.

If you choose to use impairing substances, be sure to do so responsibly by planning ahead for a sober driver, prevent your friends from getting behind the wheel if they are impaired.

Cheyenne M. Hensley, Legal Assistant

Memorial Day is approaching this week, making this weekend one of the busiest travel weekends in the country. Now that travel restrictions have been lifted, an influx of Americans feel more comfortable going on trips.

In an effort to keep North Carolina drivers safe, the North Carolina Highway Patrol is working with the NCDOT and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program on their Click It or Ticket campaign. The campaign began on Tuesday, May 24^th and ends on Monday, June 6^th.

Troopers plan on increasing patrols and checkpoints over a span of two weeks in an attempt to encourage drivers to be more attentive when following traffic laws, a main law being the proper wearing of a seatbelt. A violation of North Carolina’s seatbelt law results in a $180 fine.  

Should you or someone you know receive a seatbelt or other traffic citation in New Hanover County, Pender County, or Brunswick County, Collins Law Firm can assist you. Give us a call at (910) 793-9000 for a consultation.

Enjoy your Holiday weekend and don’t forget to fasten your seatbelts!

By Cheyenne M. Hensley, Legal Assistant

In 2021, 424 speed related crash fatalities were reported in North Carolina, 273 of which were of the male population between the ages of 15 and 29. 

At high rates of speed, one’s ability to avoid obstacles in the road, or to maintain lane control in curves is drastically reduced, and vehicles travel considerably further after brakes are applied before they come to a complete stop. 

To bring awareness of the dangers of speeding the Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s annual campaign “Speed a Little Lose a Lot” was launched today, April 11, 2022, and will last through Sunday, April 17, 2022. 

During this campaign, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, teamed up with law enforcement across the state, will step up the enforcement of speed limits in order to get motorists to slow down. 

For your own sake and the sake of others, please obey the traffic laws, and travel safely. 

However, should you or someone you know receive a citation for a traffic law violation such as a speeding ticket, call the friendly professionals at Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

Collins Law Firm represents people charged with a wide range of traffic matters from simple speeding tickets to serious felony charges. In many cases we are able to avoid the necessity of our clients appearing in court and we help eliminate or mitigate the negative consequences of citations or charges. For most minor traffic matters, Collins Law Firm offers a free initial telephone consultation or we usually have appointments available immediately if you would like to come to our office to meet with a member of our staff.

By Jana H. Collins