What is the law here on protecting your home,family,property, etc.?  If someone is outside your house beating on the door or crashing it in, what if you shoot him or her to protect your family or yourself?

A person may legally use deadly force to prevent someone from killing her or inflicting great bodily harm.  If an attacker is using non-deadly force to commit an assault the victim may use the amount of force to reasonably repel the attack.  The victim cannot use more force than appears necessary.  In general the same levels of force may be used in defense of others.

A person may use reasonable force to protect property, but cannot use deadly force unless there is a threat to life.

A person in North Carolina may use deadly force to prevent someone from entering her home if she reasonably believes there is a danger of death, great bodily harm, or a reasonable belief that the intruder intends to commit a felony.

A statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 14-51.1, covers the use of deadly force to protect a home.

Self-defense is a defense to prosecution for unlawfully killing or injuring another, it is not a bar to being prosecuted.  The accused bears the burden of persuading the jury that the use of force was justified.

I have a friend who is currently serving 36 years in the federal court system. My question is: once you are sentenced is it possible to have your sentence reduced?  And if it is possible, for what reason would they do it?  One of the witnesses that testified against my friend has written an affidavit stating that he lied about what he had testified about.  Would anyone see this as a reason to "reinvestigate" the case? And my last question is - is there federal parole anymore?

Federal sentences can be reduced by presidential commutation or pardon.  A sentence can also be reduced through a Rule 35 motion.  The prosecution uses Rule 35 motions to reward inmates who provide information that assists in the investigation and prosecution of others.

After appeal federal sentences can be attacked using a federal statute, 28 U.S.C. sec. 2255.  Succeeding in a 2255 claim requires showing that a defendant was deprived of important constitutional rights during the trial and that the deprivation resulted in a conviction.  Whether a single witness recanting his testimony would be enough to convince the government to reopen a case is hard to say.  In most cases the answer is probably no.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system for some time now.  Federal prisoners serving sentences longer than one year can earn 54 days per year off their sentence.  On a 36-year sentence your friend could earn nearly 65 months off his sentence.

Recently an unleashed dog in the back of a pickup truck jumped from the truck and attacked my cat. ... Although the owner was very apologetic and has agreed to pay the $500 vet bill, my concern is that the dog will kill again. The dog is 6 years old and the owner says this is the first time this has happened. Animal Control in my town, where the incident occurred, says they have no jurisdiction because the dog lives on elsewhere. Animal Control in the dog's hometown says they have no jurisdiction because the event occurred here. Each denies having a registry for offenders ... I have no way of knowing whether, or how many, cats the dog has killed in the past. I'm resigned to the fact that the cat is dead and if the owner does not pay, I can take him to small claims court, but is there no justice for a pet? First, it's a dangerous practice for a dog to ride in the back of a pickup truck, and second, they should at least be on a leash. Do I have any recourse to punish the owner and is it true that neither municipality has jurisdiction?

First of all, I am sorry about your cat.  I have two cats myself. 

Most pet laws are city or county ordinances so any answer depends on where exactly you live.  Even though your e-mail included your town, I do not have a way to study the local ordinances there.

If the animal control agency in the attacker's hometown won't do anything, I think a lawsuit is your only option to collect money from the owner.  Unfortunately the law of most states treat pets as property so the damages are limited to the monetary value of the pet.

My problem is with the Town of Carolina Shores, (TCS) located in the southeastern area of North Carolina at the South Carolina border. Roughly one of my subdivision, including my house, is in the extraterritorial jurisdiction Carolina Shores. Carolina Shores has an ordinance that requires homeowners in the EJT to geta permit to remove a tree of eight inch diameter or greater. The fine for trees cut in violation of the ordinance is $500 and two replacement trees for each tree removed. 

I applied for a permit to remove five pines, which have large limbs overhanging the roof and are eighteen feet of less from my home. My wife and I are seniors and are fearful that eventually one or more pine trees will fall on the house during a storm. The building inspector approved removal of only one pine tree. I don't know of a method to challenge her expertise, tree inspection is not in the building code. In telling my woes to jailhouse lawyers their opinion is only zoning laws apply to EJTs and this is the town's tree ordinance. At five hundred dollars a tree I would appreciate a more professional opinion if possible.

First, avoid the advice of jailhouse lawyers.

Next, I think the town can apply the permit rule to areas in the ETJ if the same ordinance applies inside the town.  A town cannot have special ordinances that apply only in the ETJ.

North Carolina cities and towns can regulate only subjects that the legislature authorizes them to.  The subjects that municipalities can regulate are listed in Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes.  One of the subjects that muncipalities can regulate is planning and development.  State law allows cities and towns to apply and enforce planning and development ordinances in the extraterritorial jurisdiction surrounding the municipality.  The ETJ varies from one to three miles of the municipal limits depending on the population of the city or town.  This means that any ordinance adopted under the town's planning and develpment authority (which is detailed in Chapter 160A, Article 19) can be applied in the ETJ.

I think a judge would likely rule that a tree preservation ordinance is part of the planning and development regulation and therefore can be applied to the ETJ.  Ordinances that have nothing to do with planning and development, such as a leash law or municiapl tax probably cannot be applied to the ETJ.

There is a great article here about extraterritorial jurisdiction here.

If you want to take out all five trees you should probably go through the formal permit process.  If the inspector denies the permit, the ordinance probably sets up a system for an applicant to appeal the denial of the permit.  Usually this involves an appeal to a planning board and then to the town council.  The code enforcement office should be able to explain the process to you.

We live in a POA (property owners association) near Boone and Blowing Rock and have two dachshunds. For 9 years we have lived here and walked our dogs three and four times daily without any problems. We even use the little potty bags to pick up after them. There is another POA just above us and the paved road the follows the ridge (where we and other neighbors walk there dogs) and there has never been a problem.  Three days ago the President of this POA came out and told my wife (and earlier a neighbor) that dogs were not allowed on this POA's property because their covenants stated dogs can only be on the premises of the land owners. This morning our neighbor, who has walked his dog in this area for 12 years, was paid a visit by the adjoining POA president and told he was going to be seen in court for trespassing. The road is not a state road but joins a state owned road. The road is publicly accessible. There are only a few houses on the road and the majority or the property at this time is undeveloped wooded lots. The road has about three foot shoulders on both sides. There are no markings, no signs, and no indications of private property or POA control. I called three property owners inside this POA and none of them have heard anything about this action.  Furthermore, two of them have dogs and walk them in their neighborhood. My question is this.  Is there grounds to be charged here with trespassing?

I want to fight this for the following reasons:

1. There is no damage from the three or four dogs who are walked there.

2. For years there has never been an issue or complaint of walking up this road.

3. There seems to be selective enforcement going on around the new house.

 4. If the covenants are enforceable they should be posted and equally applied. What is your thinking on this?

Unfortunately, you are probably going to have to find somewhere else to walk your dogs.  What you refer to as a POA is probably a group of property owners who own individual parcels of land and jointly own "common areas" such as streets, parking lots and open space within.  Each owner controls his own parcel of land, but is bound by restrictive covenants that may limit what the owner can do on the land.  For example an owner may decide who can come and go from his piece of land, but the covenants may restrict things such as painting a house electric blue or building a McDonalds there.

Common areas in a development like this are shared by all the residents.  Each owner is entitled to use the areas along with others.  If the covenants give the association the authority, it may impose rules regulating the use of the common areas.  Those who do not own property in the development have no right to use a common area.

If you do not own property within the POA where you walk your dog, the association may ask you to leave.  The covenants are irrelevant to you, because the association, through its president, has asked you to leave.  Residents cannot be barred from common areas, but they can be fined for violating the covenants.  For non-owners, remaining on private property after being asked to leave is trespassing.  I understand that homeowners and property owners associations are often led by petty, dictatorial, tyrants who have nothing better to do with their time than run for president of the board.  The answer to your problem would be to convince those in your neighboring POA to replace the president.

The fact that there is no damage from the dogs is irrelevant.  Merely remaining on the property after being told to leave is trespassing.  The lack of complaints in the past makes no difference, either.  A property owner may selectively enforce its property rights.  There is no requirement that the covenants be posted.

Restrictive covenants are legal obligations a seller of a piece of property imposes on the buyer.  The legal obligations run to later purchasers.  Usually the developer will come up with a common set of restrictions that apply to all property within the development.  The covenants are a matter of contract between the seller and the purchaser and are not binding on non-owners.

Zoning regulations or local ordinances are rules imposed by a government on all within its jurisdiction.

You can find out more about restrictive covenants here.

Dogs cannot be used to hunt, run or chase deer at any time in that portion of Wake County south of N.C. 98 or south of I-85 in Orange County; in Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee and Wayne counties; or in and west of the counties of Rockingham, Guilford, Randolph, Montgomery and Anson (west of N.C. 742).

Dogs cannot be used to chase or hunt deer outside of deer season.

During deer season dogs can be used to hunt deer in areas of the state other than the ones listed above.

County ordinances might prohibit shooting or possession of a loaded firearm on road right-of-ways.

Dogs running at large and unsupervised in areas managed by the Wildlife Resources Commission may be killed or captured by Wildlife Resources officers.

Your county might have an ordinance prohibiting dogs from running at large.  I could not find Warren County's ordinances on the web, but you might try calling the local animal control office to ask.