Practice Areas:
Driving While Intoxicated; Traffic Violations

Background:
James A. Crouch joined Tom Manning in 1997 to form Manning & Crouch following several years as a trial attorney for North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services.

James came to the firm with significant experience in post-conviction litigation on behalf of incarcerated state prisoners, and he litigated other prisoner-related medical litigation and administrative litigation on behalf of prisoners in North Carolina superior courts, state administrative law forums, and in United States District Courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Although James has significant federal and state court criminal trial experience, he has concentrated his practice to high-level and aggressive defense of Driving While Impaired and other serious motor vehicle-related criminal cases, including revoked license trials, speeding, Death by Motor Vehicle felony and misdemeanor cases, domestic violence, assault, and other serious misdemeanor trials and superior court jury trials of appealed misdemeanor convictions.

James has a significant presence in Wake County District Courtrooms and is in trial of Driving While Impaired cases on nearly a daily basis.

As the impaired driving laws have tightened during the last ten years, nearly every time the General Assembly meets, James Crouch continues to find creative ways to defend persons accused of impaired driving and related offenses.

James uses pretrial motions practice extensively to challenge police stops, roadside interrogations, use of scientifically suspect procedures and other constitutional, statutory, and common law challenges to police violations of clients' rights during the investigation, detention, arreset, and administration of chemical tests.

His knowledge of changing appellate case law, his thorough familiarity with Constitutional law as it relates to individual defendant's rights, as well as his knowledge of Constitutional limitations on police conduct, give him a vast arsenal of weapons to use to defend his clients.

James holds a Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and he is listed in Best Lawyers in America for Criminal Defense and DWI/Traffic Offenses.

Details:

Admitted:
1992, North Carolina
1993, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
1994, U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina
and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit 1995, U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina

Law School:
Campbell University School of Law, J.D., 1992.

College:
East Carolina University, B.A., Economics/Political Science

Member:
North Carolina Bar Association
Wake County Academy of Criminal Defense Lawyers
North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers
National Academy of Criminal Defense Lawyers