Mooresville

Should crime pay?

Published on: July 12, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”

Bank robbery is very good demonstration of the maxim that crime very rarely pays off. Studies have shown that you might be able to make off with a few thousand dollars (at most, most bank robberies don’t even result in a large haul), but your chances of getting caught are extremely high. Once you’re caught, the money disappears, you’re forced to pay for a criminal defense attorney and then, depending on the facts, you may get slapped with serious penalties, including jail time. The upside is minimal, the downside is tremendous. That’s by design, the aim of the criminal justice system is to dissuade criminal acts. But what if the upside were higher? What if a criminal was able to profit from a crime? Is that even possible? To learn more about what happens if you try and make crime pay, keep reading.

Police in Atlanta say overdose allows man to avoid DUI charge

Published on: July 5, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte DWI Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “Is there more than one way for police to charge a person with DWI?”

Typically, when you imagine a person using drugs or alcohol while driving you would expect that to lead rather quickly to a drunk driving charge. Though this is exactly the sort of situation that DUI/DWI crimes were meant to address, a recent incident in Atlanta highlights an odd facet of the system. According to law enforcement authorities, the fact that one driver was so far gone, clearly impaired and destructive, meant he actually managed to avoid a DUI charge. Now let’s explain why.

Does appearance impact criminal sentencing?

Published on: June 28, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

A commonly repeated trope of the criminal justice system is that lady justice is blind. We say this because we hope that all are treated fairly before the law. The hope is that only evidence, cold hard facts, play a role in determining guilt or innocence, not a person’s money, family, background, race, or looks. Though there are reasons to doubt how true this is in practice, especially in years past, it’s been an ideal worth striving for. A recent study appears to indicate that there is plenty of room left to strive, concluding that a person’s physical appearance can have an impact on criminal sentencing.