What I Do.

Trial level cases.

I represent people charged with serious felonies in State Court in and around Durham, North Carolina.

I have represented people at the trial level on the most serious of felony charges including murder, assault, drug trafficking, armed robbery, and sex offenses. Representation at the trial level includes first appearances, bond hearings, the discovery process, investigation of the case, regular meetings with my client, hiring of experts, witness interviews, pretrial motions and litigation (such as discovery motions, suppression motions and speedy trial motions), trial preparation, and trial.

Post-conviction cases.

I represent people convicted of serious felonies throughout the state of North Carolina.

I have filed Motions for Appropriate Relief (MARs) for people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, sex offenses, and embezzlement. Grounds raised include innocence, ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct and newly discovered evidence. Representation at the post-conviction level includes a detailed review of the case — the defense file, discovery, court file, trial or plea transcripts, appellate file, and information provided by the client, family members and witnesses. Once the review is complete, I prepare a case assessment which lays out the potential claims for a motion for appropriate relief and the law supporting those claims. The next steps are to prepare, file and litigate an MAR. Since beginning post-conviction work in 2017, I have been successful in securing the release of three clients from prison through MARs.

I do not accept a post-conviction case for review unless I believe I can help my potential client. In order to make that determination, I first gather some information about the case. If you have a loved one in prison who is wanting me to review his/her case, please have him/her write to me so I can begin the process of determining whether I might be able to help. All mail sent to me from prisons should have “Legal Mail” written on the outside of the envelope to ensure confidentiality.