False Charge of Communicating a Threat

My question involves criminal law for the state of: North Carolina

My neighbor has taken out arrest complaint against me falsely for communicating a threat.
He accused me of telling him I was gonna kick his a**.
Will I need an attorney to protect my innocense?
If I do hire an attorney will I be able to get spent money back for my defense?
If the charges are dropped and I have a pristine record, will it go on some sort of record?

Thanks in advance.

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Will I need an attorney to protect my innocense?

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it would be a good idea

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If I do hire an attorney will I be able to get spent money back for my defense?

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no

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If the charges are dropped and I have a pristine record, will it go on some sort of record?

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yes, there will be a record of the arrest.

JK, so anyone can lie about someone else, have them arrested and the court looks at you as a criminal. So the innocent has no recourse to someone else accusations? Just dont seem right.

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Quoting bigtwin

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JK, so anyone can lie about someone else, have them arrested and the court looks at you as a criminal. So the innocent has no recourse to someone else accusations? Just dont seem right.

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an arrest requires probable cause. That is why for serious crimes, a grand jury is required to issue a true bill which then allows for an indictment and subsequent warrant. In lesser crimes, a cop, in the stead of the DA who actually seeks a warrant for arrest from the courts, is allowed to make an arrest if he believes the requirements of PC have been met. In crimes where there is not PC, in the eyes of the cop, he will make a report to the DA who will determine if there is PC and seek the issuance of a warrant from the courts. That is one reason often times a cop will not arrest but there is a subsequent arrest once the DA reviews the report .

Ultimately it requires a court to issue a warrant but there are situations where officers of the court (cops, DA) are allowed to make an initial determination.

If there was not enough evidence that would allow a court to support the issuance of a warrant, it is possible, in some cases and states, to have the arrest expunged from your record. In your situation, the totality of the circumstances may very well support a charge of assault BUT a threat in itself is often not adequate to support any charges (unless you are threatening the president of the US). The totality of the situation must be considered for any charges to be validated.

but to answer your last question more specifically:

no, a court does not look at you as a criminal merely because of an arrest, or at least they are not supposed to; you know, that innocent until proven guilty thing? A court really is expected to live by that statement.

as to no recourse: depends on the situation. If it can be proven there was no truth to the statement, the reporter is obviously guilty of filing a false report. That is an actual crime that can be prosecuted. It is very difficult, and in most cases, impossible for you to seek compensation from the reporter for filing a false report though. Unless the action is so ridiculously obvious it is a blatant lie and merely done as some malicious act, the reporter is generally protected from both prosecution and retribution by the defendant.

jk, Thanks for the follow up. That does shed some enlightenment on the whole scheme of the issue.
Thanks again