Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I talk to the police?” As technology improves, it’s all but guaranteed that some enterprising criminal will find new ways to perpetrate crimes. After all, where there’s a will, it won’t be long until there’s a way. Though technological advancement…
Articles Posted in constitutional rights
Court Seeks to Limit Use of Solitary Confinement
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question:”A past conviction is keeping me from finding work. What can I do?” For many people, what goes on inside the walls of a prison isn’t the focus of much attention. Most seem content to embrace the idea that what’s out of…
“You Have the Right to an Attorney”—Unless Prosecutors Insist You’re Unconscious?
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I talk to the police?” The man suspected of planting the bombs on the Jersey Shore and in Manhattan last month is being represented by attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after being denied access to a federal…
U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision In Race-Based Jury Selection Case
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Am I allowed to videotape an interaction with police? Can they make me stop filming?” An important decision in a Georgia death penalty case was finally revealed after the Supreme Court spent more than seven months debating the matter. The High…
Fourth Circuit Rules Warrant Required For Cell Records
Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers : I was found not guilty of a charge, but my record still shows the charge Just last week the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals tackled a subject that is becoming increasingly important in criminal investigations: cellphone records. Courts across the country often…
Ignorance of law, legal rights at issue in North Carolina-related Supreme Court case
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Should I talk to the police?” A recent United States Supreme Court has some legal observers complaining that police officers are entitled to mistakes of law, while ordinary citizens are not. The decision underlines, however, the ignorance many…
N.C. voters pass Constitutional amendment allowing defendants to waive jury trials
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” Like other criminal defense attorneys, I would almost never recommend that a defendant waive one’s right to a jury trial. Until last week, defendants in North Carolina could…