Charlotte Criminal Lawyer BlogCharlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Why is it important to hire a DWI lawyer quickly after being charged with a DWI?
DWI Sentencing Factors in North Carolina
Articles Tagged with Mecklenburg County
How Will My Plea Impact My Criminal Case?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXdKeM3anU
Facing criminal charges is one of the most daunting experiences of your life. If you have been arrested for a potentially criminal act, you may not know the options that are available to you or what to expect during the process. A criminal defense attorney is often a critical component to help you defend the charges and resolve the matter as favorably as possible. It is your legal right to enter a plea to any criminal charge, but you should do so with as much information and understanding as possible.
Distracted Driving
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Am I allowed to videotape an interaction with police? Can they make me stop filming?”
Distracted driving is a term that has become more common in the last several years. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving causes more than a quarter of a million injuries and more than 3,000 deaths each year. States, including North Carolina, have enacted laws that ban texting while driving, one of the most common forms of distraction. If you are accused of distracted driving, you will want to consider defending the case in court. Speak with an experienced North Carolina attorney to discuss the details of your case.
Can You Reduce a DWI Charge to Reckless Driving in North Carolina?
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What happens if I am convicted of a DUI or DWI in Charlotte North Carolina?”
In North Carolina, as in many other states, being charged with driving while impaired (DWI) is a serious offense that carries harsh penalties, including fines and even a potential jail sentence. Many of those who have been charged with DWI in North Carolina are wondering if it is possible to reduce the charge to a less serious offense, such as reckless driving.
North Carolina Court Rules Further on Drug ID
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
Criminal charges and the subsequent trial that follow can raise legal questions for North Carolina courts. There are always new issues that arise and new considerations to be taken into account. Recently, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has further expanded upon drug identification in criminal cases. The appeals court has ruled on drug identification at different points throughout the year, but this new ruling adds in an extra wrinkle to identifying drugs.
Can Criminal Charges be Dropped?
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “The person that called the police doesn’t want to press charges, can I still be prosecuted?”
The prospect of facing criminal charges can lead to anxiety and uncertainty, regardless if the crime is a felony or a misdemeanor. You might think that the only possible outcome is being found guilty or innocent. However, in North Carolina there are additional results for criminal charges. It is important to note that there is no guarantee of any outcome in a criminal charge. Instead, it is helpful to know all of the possible outcomes for your case. Criminal convictions can have life-altering consequences that follow you for years to come. The following are alternatives to a finding of guilt or innocence in a criminal charge.
Recent West Virginia Case Clarifies Rights Of Defendants
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question: “I was found not guilty of a charge, why does my record still show the charge?”
The West Virginia Supreme Court recently issued an important decision that will help clear up questions regarding the rights of criminal defendants when it comes to making plea deals. Though the impact of the case is currently limited only to those defendants located in West Virginia, expert say that the case will likely have implications elsewhere given the strength and clarity of the decision.
NHL player arrested after pool-party pat down uncovers his cocaine, Molly
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?”
Sports and celebrity news sites in the United States, Canada and around the world have broadcast the details surrounding the arrest last Friday of professional hockey star Jarret Stoll.
In many cases, the “when” in a criminal case is still up to the Prosecutor
J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”
A criminal defense attorney was recently admonished by a District Court judge for seeking to have a motion heard.
“The District Attorney controls the docket,” the judge told the attorney, meaning that if the attorney wanted to have her motion heard, she would have to get the District Attorney to call the case.
Until about twenty years ago, prosecutors in North Carolina had the authority to set the criminal court calendar. Then, in the wake of a lawsuit brought against then-Durham County prosecutor James Hardin, Jr., Simeon v. Hardin, 451 S.E.2d 858 (N.C. 1994), the State legislature removed some prosecutorial authority in setting criminal calendars.
In the Simeon case, the complainants alleged that the district attorney held them in jail in an effort to coerce guilty pleas, listed cases on the court calendar even though he had no intention of calling them, and failed to call cases on agreed-upon dates, even though witnesses had flown in at considerable expense, according to a treatise on prosecutorial docket control published by Andrew Siegel in 2005. These tactics forced defense counsel to engage in “unnecessary and repetitive case preparation,” and—the complainants alleged in Simeon—the district attorney “used control of the docket to punish disfavored defense counsel and to extract pretrial punishment[.]”