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Jim commits his practice to one area: criminal defense. From traffic offenses such as driving while impaired to serious felonies, including homicides. Jim has defended thousands of clients and in each and every case understood and appreciated the importance and responsibility to each client. Jim is committed to ensuring that the client achieves the best possible outcome.
Jim is the only defense attorney in Carteret County certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in State Criminal law. In 2010, his peers recognized his expertise in the field of Criminal Law by voting to include him in the Legal Elite in Business North Carolina Magazine.
Jim began his career as an assistant district attorney in Carteret County and for his first five years prosecuted the vast majority of both felony jury trials and misdemeanor trials in Carteret County. Jim is licensed to practice before the North Carolina State Courts, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and the United States Supreme Court.
Jim grew up in New Bern, North Carolina, graduated with a degree in business from Wake Forest University in 1987, cum laude, and received his law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1992. Jim is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL), North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Criminal Defense Section, 3B Judicial District Bar and has served as its president, Carteret County Bar Association, Eastern North Carolina Inn of Court, and Lookout Rotary Club.
Mr. Lupton’s Team
Star Somers, Legal Assistant
Board Certified by the North Carolina State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization
He enjoys surfing, hiking, coaching and traveling.
Examples of the kinds of cases that Jim most commonly handles are as follows: