Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question:”A past conviction is keeping me from finding work. What can I do?” In a truly grim case out of Goldsboro, North Carolina, police say they are actively searching for a woman whose mother was found dead in a freezer. Police say…
Articles Posted in Mecklenburg
Louisiana Tries To Protect Cops With New Hate Crime Legislation
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Am I allowed to videotape an interaction with police? Can they make me stop filming?” Hate crime legislation is designed to protect those who are victims of discrimination or violence perpetrated by others. The laws are written to provide this protection…
Your Fingerprints Can’t Plead the Fifth, Federal Court Says
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” On this blog earlier in the year we talked about the FBI trying to force Apple to hack into the San Bernardino shooting suspect’s iPhone to help with the ongoing criminal investigation. Since…
Murder Victim’s Wife Receives Husband’s Gruesome Autopsy Photos in Mail
Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I simply intend to plead guilty, why do I need a lawyer?” If you’ve already been convicted of a crime but are sitting in jail awaiting sentencing, criminal defense lawyers will normally advise you to stay on your best behavior.…
Aluminum-Covered Bank Robbers Foiled by Security Cameras
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” A busted pair of bank robbers in Brazil had resorted to an interesting method of disguise for their attempted heist: the duo covered themselves head to toe in aluminum foil for their early-morning…
Life imitates art in Big Lebowski-esque wrong-car smashup
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC responds to “The person that called the police doesn’t want to press charges, can I still be prosecuted?” A twenty-two-year old Florida man brought a scene from Joel and Ethan Cohen’s 1998 feature film The Big Lebowski to life last week…
Jury clears officer who shot and killed unarmed backseat passenger during traffic stop
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “If I have an outstanding warrant, what should I do?” The “Hands up, don’t shoot!” moniker is all the rage in the United States, with prominent professional athletes in the National Basketball Association and National Football League, as…
“Wings on pigs” post protected by First Amendment, says legal expert
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Should I talk to the police?” Americans are well informed of the facts—and the rhetoric—surrounding the high-profile police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City this past summer. Most are just…
Jury convicts man who pled “stand your ground” defense
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” A 30-year-old Montana man has been convicted of deliberate homicide in the April 27, 2014 shooting death of a German foreign-exchange student. The man, Markus Kaarma of Missoula, Montana, found…
Notes of caution sounded on across-the-board police body-camera use
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” The move is on—in the wake of riots and protests over police shooting and choking deaths of two unarmed men in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City—to equip police officers…