’ This is
the Law
HHp
BY CHARLES W. DANIEL
(For the N. C. Bar Association)
CRIMES
A “crime” is any act, or conduct,
AjDfich has been declared a crime by
the State and for which the individual
or group responsible may 6e publicly
punished, either by fine, or imprison
ment, or both.
North Carolina divides crimes into
two general classifications: Misde
meanors and felonies. A felony is a
crime which is or may be punishable
by either death or imprisonment in
the State’s prison. Any other crime
is a misdemeanor.
The distinction between the itwo
classifications of crime is important
for several reasons. Not the least of
these is the fact that one convicted of
a felony loses his citizenship and its
attendant rights, including the right to
vote or hold public office. A person
convicted of a misdemeanor is not so
severely penalized. Citizenship lost
upon conviction of a felony may be
restored by law (outlined in Chapter
13 of the General Statutes).
Petition for Citizenship
A convicted felon, after he has ser
ved his time or paid off, may get back
his citizenship by filing a petition in
the Superior Court, setting out his oc
cupation since his release and the
f reasons why he believes he should be
reinstated as a full-fledged citizen.
The felon must wait two years after
release before filing this petition.
Then the clerk of court must adver
tise the fact that a hearing on the
petition is to be held, so that those
who might oppose the restoration
could appear. On the actual hearing
before the Superior Court Judge, the
felon must prove by “five respectable
witnesses” that his “character” for
truth and honesty has been good for
three years.
The difference between felonv and
misdemeanor is also important be
cause there is no time limit, against
prosecuting felonies. On the other
hand, the time limit after which a
person may not be prosecuted for a
misdemeanor is two years. This means,
that if one commits a simple assault
or an ordinary trespass (which are
misdemeanors) and the State fails to
prosecute for two years thereafter, it
is barred forever and the offender is
free.
However, if one commits murder or
any other felony, he may be prose-j
•cuted for it at the pleasure of the^
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HEALTH HORIZONS I
i*-’ 1 IIL - 1 11 ■ ■
i t Baware Os Thunderstorms |
* “Last summer a man was killed by lightning while leaning against iT
[ tree along a creek where there were many other trees,” reported the
! Journal of the American Medical Association recently. What safer shel
ter might he have chosen? So few of us can answer that question that the
National Bureau of Standards has recently issued some rules for per-,
sonal safety during summer thunderstorms. . J
H For safety as well as comfort, < ~
it is best to take the precaution of
mobile. This is not as inconsistent
as it may seem. As most of us know,
metal acts as a conductor of elec- • “ (
tricity. If you are in something a single big tree. You’d be better
, like a steel-frame building, the off in the dense wood at the edge
lightning will be grounded, and of the course, if you can’t make
(therefore won’t hurt you. Your the club house, but be careful not
metal stove, on the other hand, to pick a spot where there’s a wire
.would attract lightning, but not fence. If there is nothing but an >
! ground it For similar reasons, isolated tree in sight, you’ll prob
,“A farmer plowing a field would ably be safer sitting under it-=-a
bo safer under the tractor than few feet away from the trunk—
perched in its seat.” rather than leaning against it.
, If you’re really out in the wide .
A Simple Rule o p en g p aces> look for shelter at the
The simplest rule to remember foot of a steep or overhanging cliff
vis to avoid open spaces and isolated (avoid hill tops), a cave or de-
I shelters when there is lightning. If pression in the ground, or a deep
"you’re out in a rowboat; for in- valley. In sections where storms (
stance, head for shore when you are known to come suddenly wi h
race a storm coming up. If you're in little warning, it’s a particular'y ‘
(the middle of a golf course, aban- good idea to survey the landscr e
don your game before the first bolt with possible shelters in mind L
rips the sky—and don’t head for /ore you actually need pro^
State, no matter how much time might :
have elapsed before the criminal ac
tion is started.
Offense Against State
All crimes are offenses against the '
State. They are infractions of State
laws, or, the “common law” which is (
unwritten. It is for this reason that f
criminal cases in all courts are labeled (
“State (of North Carolina) v. John
Doe (defendant).” The General As
sembly and certain State administra- (
tive agencies over the years have de
termined what kind of conduct shall ,
constitute crime. It was the General (
Assembly which determined rape, first
degree murder, burglary, and arson (
are “capital crimes,” punishable by
death in North Carolina. Kidnapping '
is punishable by life imprisonment.
Double Jeopardy
The Federal Constitution oiotects
the individual against “double jeop
ardy”—trial more than once for the
. same offense. On this point the ques
tion arises “When does the protection
of the double jeopardy provision begin
to work? When is a trial a trial, af
ter which the State cannot quit and
begin again later, or after which the
State cannot again prosecute the de
fendant on the identical evidence?”
Generally, it may be said that a de- 1
j fendant has been placed in ‘jeopardy’
THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON. N. Q, THURSDAY, JULY 1, 195*.
after the jury has been impaneled and !
the defendant arraigned. If the State '
goes this far in prosecuting an accus
ed person, it cannot later try the same
individual again for the original of- '
sense, unless the trial judge finds l
facts legally sufficient as a basis for
ordering a mistrial. In such case, the
accused could be tried again for the
same offense. The accused could also
be tried again if a mistrial in the first
hearing should be ordered on motion
of the accused, himself.
A person accused of a minor crime
which can be tried by a Recorder’s *
Court or a Justice of the Peace may 1
plead “not guilty” and yet have his 1
case heard by the Judge without a.'
jury. This is not true of cases heard | !
in Superior Court. There, every case 11
in which a plea of “not guilty” is en-i 1
tered MUST be heard by a jury.
Give All the Facts i 1
Many persons, seeking the aid of an
attorney to defend them against
charges of crime, make the gross er
ror of withholding some of the facts
from the attorney.
No attorney can properly defend
against an alleged crime unless he is
given all the facts within the knowl
edge of his client. A person accused
of crime should have no qualms about
telling his lawyer truthfully every-
NEA President
HIT'::
ED M ANDERSON
Ed M. Anderson, publisher of
five weekly newspapers in west
ern North Carolina, was elected
president of the National Editor
ial Association, national trade as
sociation for the weekly and small
daily newspapers of the country,
at the NEA’s 69th Annual Con
vention in Baltimore recently.
Anderson succeeds Alan C. Mcln
tosh, publisher of the Luveme
(Minn.) Star-Herald, as president
of NEA.
thing he knows about the case. The
attorney’s relationship with the client
is completely confidential. The attor
ney has taken an oath to protect—
within the law—the interest of the
client. Remember these facts if you
are ever accused of a crime. They
could easily be the difference between
prison and freedom.
Last of Series
This is the last in the current series
of articles “THIS IS THE LAW.” The
North Carolina Bar Association hopes
that you have found the articles infor
mative. Another series of similar
columns, designed to better acquaint
readers of The Herald with our basic
laws and court procedures, will be of
fered next fall.
Wages In Other Fields
Higher Than Teachers
Wages of workers in the construc
tion industry, in the entire field of
manufacturing and in the transpor
tation industry, were several hundred
dollars higher than the salary of the
[average school teacher in 1953, it was
irevealed recently in an analysis of the
, teacher wage problem by Harold F.
; Clark, economic analyst, Teachers
, College, Columbia University, New
| Independence |
Day j
I ❖ I
The signers of the Declaration of Independ
|! '
hi ... I
jii ence pledged themselves to support it with
i ;
I! • “our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Hon-
O,” I
I
Let us renew their pledge, remembering
| that our freedom is a heritage which must be
maintained and defended by each generation.
! , . .
!
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JULY 5, A LEGAL HOLIDAY
❖
I k BUY UNITED STATES BONDS J
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“Continuous discussion must focus i
on this critical situation in order to i
attract the quality of people to teach- 1
ing that most communities desire,” i
Mr. Clark said.
Following are excerpts from the •
Clark report, printed in the May num
ber of The School Executive:
“The average annual earnings for
all the workers in the construction in- ’
dustry in 1953 was $4,215. The aver- <
age earnings of all workers in the en
tire field of manufacturing was $4,- j«
040. The average wages of all work j
ers in the transportation industry was
approximately $4,400. All of these i
figures are several hundred dollars ■
higher than the salary of the aver-j
age teacher.
“Seemingly the public is going to]
have to be reminded continuously that I
wages have been rising sharply in I
these other fields. Teachers’ salaries j
have never adjusted adequately to the
wartime price rise. As a result, teach- j
ers have failed to hold their own as
compared to other occupations. Con
tinuous discussion must focus on this
problem in order to attract the quality
of people to teaching that most com
munities desire.
“Probably much could be said for a
careful systematic campaign, asking I
_ .
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know the right number
When you drive, you want to gee to your destination mote
quickly when you know the proper highway number.
The same is true in making a long distance phone call.
- When you know the number —and give it to the operator—
* you get your party more quickly.
. So keep your list of long distance numbers handy. It
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SECTION TWO—
the community what level of person
it wants to teach its children. Al
most every community will answer
that it wants people well above the
average.
“There was a time in the 1930’s
when teachers’ salaries were very
much above the average of all wages
arid salaries. It was reasonable then
to expect to draw teachers from high
[up in the general ability level of the
I community. Now teachers’ salaries
'are about the average and in many
[communities under the average wage
I level of that community. It simply
will not be possible under these con
i ditions to get the quality the com
munity wants.”
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Can Be Crocheted
Crocheted hats and bags rate high
as fashion accessories for wear with
summer cottons. Crochet thread in
j white, pastels, and navy makes up
beautifully for many different styles
in hats and bags. The cotton crochet
thread is easy to work with, and it
launders well.
Designs for crocheted accessories
can be found in the instruction books
at art needlework counters of depart-
I ment stores.
Page One