Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I simply intend to plead guilty, why do I need a lawyer?”
North Carolina law does not have mandatory minimum sentences for most criminal offenses. In most criminal cases, prosecutors can offer a plea bargain while judges have discretion over the sentences they impose.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
Everyone has likely heard of the Stanford sexual assault case by now, the one involving Brock Turner, the former college athlete who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in a parking lot on campus. That case, and the lenient sentence that resulted, caused a media firestorm. The victim chose to publicly release her impact statement, leading to an outpouring from millions around the world, including the Vice President.
Charlotte DWI and Criminal Defense Attorney J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC responds to: “I was found not guilty of a charge, but my record still shows the charge.”
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling will have an important impact on dozens of people currently serving life sentences in North Carolina prisons. The ruling will require courts to reconsider their sentences as the inmates were all under 18 years old at the time of their crimes. Whether the life sentences without the possibility of parole are ultimately tossed out depends in part of the nature of the original crime and on the leniency of the judges presiding over the new hearings.
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog