Pretrial Integrity Act Now in Effect A new law is in place in North Carolina. The Pretrial Integrity Act went into effect on October 1, 2023. The bill was initially introduced as House 813 and was signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper on July 1, 2023. The law is…
Mecklenburg County Courts Going Digital – Delays are Expected We all like efficiency and there is a need to bring all of our governmental processes into the digital age. With this in mind, the court system in North Carolina has been undergoing a transition to digital. The new system is…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” Several cities in North Carolina enacted a curfew in response to protests over the killing of George Floyd. In Charlotte, 30 people were arrested during the second night of protests, according to WBTV.…
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” Charlotte-Mecklenburg police office Randall Kerrick avoided conviction on manslaughter charges last week when the North Carolina jury deadlocked, forcing the judge presiding over the case to declare a…
Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime? Former Charlotte mayor Patrick Cannon found himself back in federal court in Charlotte last Thursday, where he faced the same federal district court judge who sentenced him to 44…
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” Bill Stevenson became the latest North Carolina magistrate to resign his post in the wake of court rulings that paved the way for same-sex marriages to being in the Tar…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “I was found not guilty of a charge, but my record still shows the charge?” In a surprising and welcome move, Charlotte’s city manager, Ron Carlee, has said that the box that asks candidates to disclose their criminal histories will be removed…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” A grand jury in Charlotte chose to indict a local cop on voluntary manslaughter charges for shooting and killing an unarmed man last September who had just been involved in a late night…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” An officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and is now in custody after authorities say he was involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man over the weekend. According to…
According to a recent article on the Huffington Post, a 21-year-old Charlotte man was arrested by the Secret Service for posting threatening messages about President Barack Obama on Twitter during the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The man has been charged in a felony criminal complaint accusing him of threatening the…