Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” In a terrible episode late last month, a man who served as the best man at his good friend’s wedding was arrested for stabbing the bride to death. The tragedy took place in late April when Jonathan…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?” A new push by the National Transportation Safety Board has some worried about a continuing decline in what amount of alcohol qualifies a driver as impaired. The NTSB recently released a recommendation that said all…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” The Supreme Court handed down a major ruling last month in the Missouri v. McNeely case. The justices decided to reject the argument advocated by Missouri and the Obama administration that officers should never be required to…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?” In an interesting case involving drunk driving arrests, our very own Brad Smith has been in the news recently, arguing that police in Charlotte need to make some serious changes to the way they process…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” A very interesting story appeared in the Boston Globe last week and compared the surprisingly few DUI arrests in that city to numbers from other similarly sized towns, including Charlotte. The results were surprising and revealed that…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?” A Canadian man recently had his drunk driving charges dropped thanks to his acid reflux problems. The driver, Phil Coffey, from Ontario, was first pulled over in 2010 as part of a DUI enforcement campaign…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” The North Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation that would ensure that individuals who are convicted in the state of human trafficking must register with local sheriffs as registered sex offenders. The legislation was passed unanimously by…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?” A potentially important bill has been introduced in the North Carolina legislature that could change the way law enforcement agencies handle marijuana possession offenses. The legislation, House Bill 637, would lower penalties for…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?” Late last month the Supreme Court handed down a major criminal ruling concerning the use of drug-sniffing dogs. The case, Florida v. Jardines, was a close one, 5-4, and backed up a lower court’s decision to declare…
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?” News from the Attorney General indicates that there was a big rise in the number of North Carolinians who died as a result of domestic violence last year. The 15 percent jump, a rise of…