The final tally is in and the New Hanover County Commissioners spent $67,794.86 in attorney’s fees in the appeal of Berger’s removal to New Hanover County Superior Court. Mr. Berger was ultimately returned to his seat last month by an order Superior Court Judge James Gale. The attorney’s fees spent by the county are approximately 5 times Brian Berger’s annual salary as a New Hanover County Commissioner, this information and the information for the attorney’s fees is all public information which is available under North Carolina’s Public Records Law. Unfortunately for the residents of New Hanover County, due in part to the federal shutdown, some of the programs there have been cut over the last two weeks including welfare programs for those who are in need.

In a letter which was sent to New Hanover County, some of the actions taken by me, were described, “as a result of the injection of irrelevant and/or spurious issues and other actions.” I may have Spurious Anglin printed on the back of future softball jerseys, it seems to have a ring to it. Following the use of amotion in New Hanover County, a dangerous precedent has been set in the State of North Carolina and partisan political boards have resorted to removing their fellow members. This was done down in Hope Mills and Tonzie Collins was removed from office last month. Also, there are other local governmental bodies which have investigated using amotion also. Hopefully, in the next session the state legislature will pass a law banning the use of amotion in North Carolina and pass a general recall bill for local governmental officials. This is the correct action instead of local governmental boards conveying upon themselves the authority to remove other members. The danger in the amotion process being used is that eventually an extreme circumstance that warrants removal from office will not be any type of official misconduct, felony criminal convictions, etc. It will be that the official that is removed is just a member of a different political party or they refuse to vote with the other members on a certain issue. If they can do it and get away with it, why not do it? The answer is there is no reason not to do it. Politics both in the State of North Carolina and the U.S. as a whole is now a zero sum game. You have to oppose the actions of someone who is of the opposite party at every turn and this makes compromise extremely difficult. Hopefully with this in mind, the NC Legislature will pass a bill preventing the future use of amotion and the governor will sign it. Otherwise, the use of amotion is likely to continue.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20131015/ARTICLES/131019793/1177?Title=Failed-effort-to-remove-Berger-cost-county-68-000&tc=ar

On Friday, October 11 Wake County District Court Judge Joy Hamilton dismissed  trespassing charges and failure to disperse charges at the close of state’s evidence and then dismissed charges related to violation of building rules at the close of the defense’s evidence for married couple Douglass Ryder and Vicki Ryder. The outcome of the two cases could signal a change in the direction that the Moral Monday cases will take or it could just be an aberration. It will be interesting to see the outcome of future trials in the coming weeks.

The strategy of the Moral Monday protesters in demanding trials is a good one. There are over 900 people awaiting trial and the first three trials, with two being combined took two full business days. Assuming that there is an average of 1 trial a day, that equals out to over 900 days of trial ahead. Assuming that the courts are open five business a week, which they are not without taking holidays into account, at the current pace with 52 weeks a year that is 260 trials year. So it will take approximately three and a half years to do all the trials assuming that there are no holidays and just one Wake County Assistant District Attorney is assigned to do the trials.

So if theoretically the trials continue at this pace, there will be at least three more legislative sessions before the trials conclude. However, there is a strong possibility that there will be some action taken by the Wake County District Attorney’s Office given the negative publicity that this is receiving. All of the protesters have a Constitutional right to a trial and they are exercising this right.

Another interesting facet to these trials is if this will encourage future protests in the next legislative session. If you can protest, even with the threat of arrest on a minor charge and not face prosecution for years or no prosecution at all, there is no incentive not to protest. The threat of arrest and prosecution may no longer be a valid threat for future protesters. Should the Wake County District Attorney’s Office decline to prosecute the  remaining Moral Monday protesters this will create an even more interesting situation. It would be up to either the Attorney General’s Office to name a special prosecutor or the state legislature to pass a law giving them the authority to name a prosecutor to prosecute people arrested by the State Capitol Police. There was a law that was passed by the state legislature this session giving them the authority to hire an attorney to defend the new Voter ID Law that went into affect this year. They have hired an attorney from South Carolina and this has been in the news recently. It highlights the discord between the Attorney General and the Governor and the State Legislature.

Should the state legislature give itself the authority to hire prosecutors to prosecute individuals arrested by the State Capitol Police, this would be a fascinating foray by politicians into the local criminal justice system and would generate further headlines. Regardless of the outcome of the Moral Monday prosecutions, the mixture of politics and criminal justice will continue to make headlines both in North Carolina and nationwide. Please see below for the news story regarding the dismissal of charges and check back for future updates.

http://www.wral.com/charges-dismissed-for-2-moral-monday-protesters/12989063/

The first trial of a Moral Monday protester took place on Friday, October 4. The protester was found guilty in District Court of all charges and immediately appealed the conviction to Wake County Superior Court. Should the case proceed to a jury trial, it could take at least a year or longer before the there is a trial. Also, information came out during the trial that the Raleigh Police Department conducted undercover surveillance at the meetings of the North Carolina Chapter of the NAACP. Defense attorneys are likely to make motions in order to get all of the police reports related to the surveillance. It will be interesting to see what information comes to light from this documentation and if it will give arrested protesters any type of viable defense. Also, should there be improper conduct by the Raleigh Police Department or the State Capitol Police there is a possibility of a lawsuit, given the political nature of this case.

The Wake County District Attorney’s Office has made the determination that the prosecutions of Moral Monday protesters will continue. However, if negative information about police surveillance techniques comes to light, the DA’s Office will have some tough decisions to make. The prosecutions of the protesters will be ultimately be highly expensive and if they are convicted in District Court, most will likely appeal to Superior Court for a jury trial. The amount of time and money expended in the prosecution of the protesters will far outweigh any punishment they are given. Check back here periodically for updates on the Moral Monday Prosecutions.

http://www.wral.com/apnewsbreak-cops-spied-on-moral-monday-protesters/12969245/

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year started using a new filing and billing system for Medicaid Claims and Payment. The system was intended to cut down on the red tape and allow Medicaid Providers the ability to be paid in a more orderly and timely fashion. However, that has not been the case. There have been delays in payments and some medical providers are threatening to file a lawsuit regarding these payment problems.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/medical-providers-considering-lawsuits-over-issues/nY9Kc/

As you can see from this article and others like it, the problems have reached a point where Medicaid and Medicare Providers may have to take legal action to correct this situation. There are various causes of action which they may be able to bring the lawsuit under. Please call us at 919-803-1516 if you have any questions.

In what can only be described as a victory for the Democratic process in North Carolina, Judge James Gale gave Brian Berger his seat back on September 5. Anglin Law Firm enjoyed their representation of Mr. Berger and we are pleased that he got his seat back. Mr. Berger looks forward to once again resuming office and being able to serve the people of New Hanover County until the end of his term.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/09/05/first-3-judge-restores-brian-berger-to-new-hanover-county-board-of-commissioners

Here is an Anglin Law Firm lawsuit in Wilmington, North Carolina where claims have been filed for negligence and assault and battery. Post any comments or questions that you may have about negligence or premises liability lawsuits in North Carolina.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/04/05/only-3-assault-victim-sues-hospital-ex-husband

Below is the latest update from the Brian Berger case which could change the course of local politics in North Carolina. The reply brief is due on Monday, July 15, 2013.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130708/ARTICLES/130709674

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