Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Is there more than one way for police to charge a person with DWI?” Elizabeth Renter was driving for the rideshare service Lyft in Illinois when she got into an accident that killed her passenger. Renter was charged with a misdemeanor…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” Criminal law is complex. There are many crimes that can be committed under the same “type” of offense and there are different levels of severity for each crime. In North Carolina,…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?” In a blow to federal immigration officials and the politicians, like President Trump, who have taken a hard line as it relates to the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I have an outstanding warrant, what should I do?” A woman named Julie Cantu recently experienced one of the (many) negative aspects of today’s information age. While out on a first date, the man asked her several normal get-to-know-you questions,…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?” When most people imagine the IRS, the first thing that comes to mind is the prototypical big, bad government bureaucracy. The IRS is the kind of institution that sets rules and never loses.…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What should parents tell their children to do when interacting with police officers?” It may come as a surprise to some that the right to bond, or at least the right to a hearing to determine if bond will be granted,…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I have an outstanding warrant, what should I do?” We have discussed bail before. Specifically, we have discussed the ways in which the current bail system in place in many states is designed in such a way that disadvantages the…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” Stand Your Ground laws have been around for more than a decade now, with Florida serving as one of the first states to pass such legislation back in 2005. Though not a novel…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Should I talk to the police?” We have discussed civil asset forfeiture before and how there is growing consensus around the country that the practice has many negatives and unfairly impacts those who are already among the most vulnerable. The system…
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” If you have seen the movie “Minority Report” starring Tom Cruise, you are familiar with some of the scary and seemingly futuristic ways that technology could come to influence the criminal…