Traffic Violations

Criminal traffic rules shaped by justices who have had little contact with traffic, courts

Published on: February 19, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte DWI and Criminal Defense Attorney J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What am I obligated to do if I’ve been pulled for Drinking and Driving?”

The United States Supreme Court is comprised of nine judges whose legal educations began at either Harvard or Yale. With the exception of Ruth Bader Ginsburg—who transferred to Columbia University School of Law—all nine obtained their law degrees from Harvard or Yale.

The (alleged) hoity-toity backgrounds of the justices—underscored in a January 22, 2015 Washington Post piece—came into laser focus in oral arguments in Rodriguez v. United States, according to Bloomberg News.

The issue in Rodriguez was whether police can use a dog to sniff for drugs around a vehicle during a routine traffic stop. Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman, who observed the arguments, suggested the “browbeating… conservatives” and “assist[ing]… liberals” on the court, through their questioning of lawyers for Rodriguez and the United States, revealed their ideological divides.

Those divides—and who the justices are—both Bloomberg and the Post suggested, are important issues that sometimes define and nearly always, at least, inform their decisions.

With respect to traffic stops, at least a few of the justices—unlike many high-profile political leaders who use professional drivers and have not driven a car in decades—actually have experience with roadway traffic. In 2011, Justice Antonin Scalia was cited after rear-ending a vehicle on George Washington Memorial Parkway. Justice Stephen Breyer was hit by a car while biking in 1993, proving he has at least had contact with an automobile.

Trooper says accident not bus driver’s fault, charges her with reckless driving anyway

Published on: January 13, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I represent myself on a traffic ticket?”

A 38-year-old Gaston County woman has been charged with reckless driving after a school bus crash that injured 23 middle school students, despite the fact that a North Carolina State Trooper said the crash was not caused by “something she was doing.”

The driver—Annette Phillips—was charged Thursday after the school bus she was driving flipped on its side on a curvy stretch of Chapel Grove Road in rural southwestern Gaston County. Phillips was transporting students home from Southwest Middle School in Gastonia. According to WCCB, Phillips own son was riding on the bus at the time of the accident.

Trooper John Burgin told WBTV that an overhead storage compartment door fell open, causing a distraction and blocking Phillips’ line of site. When Phillips tried to clear her line of site, she ran the bus off the right side of the road, then overcorrected to the left, tipping the bus on its side.

Troopers say the bus was traveling anywhere from 30 to 40 miles per hour before the crash. The posted speed limit in the area is 45 miles-per-hour, but the stretch of Chapel Grove Road where the crash occurred bends sharply over a creek and up a steep hill. Warning signs advise drivers not to exceed 25 miles-per-hour around the curves, but troopers conceded those warnings are only suggestions.

North Carolina Woman Charged With Reckless Driving After Ending Up In A Creek

Published on: April 15, 2014 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “I was found not guilty of a charge, but my record still shows the charge.”

North Carolina State Highway Patrol officers have charged a woman after her car ended up in a ditch in Onslow County earlier this week. In that case, 23-year-old Brittany Veitch was charged with reckless and careless driving after her vehicle slid off the road and wound up in a creek.

Law enforcement officials say that the woman was arguing with a passenger before the accident happened. As a result of distraction, Veitch then drifted out of her lane and eventually ended up in the ditch. At the time of the accident, Veitch was transporting her 9-month-old son. Thankfully, reports indicate the boy was safely strapped in his car seat and was unharmed as a result of the accident.

Some people might be surprised that charges were filed despite the relatively minor consequences of the accident. The reality is that in North Carolina the law allows police officers the latitude to bring charges against those drivers who were distracted, careless or reckless while operating their vehicle. The law exists to punish those whose inattention could lead to possibly devastating injuries to themselves or others.

Beyond obvious examples of distracted driving like texting or talking on the phone, the reality is that even heated arguments with passengers can create the kind of danger that leads to accidents. As this case illustrates, doing anything that pulls your attention away from the road can be enough to lead to a momentary mistake. Eating, fiddling with the radio, yelling at kids in the back seat or looking for directions, are all low-tech examples of distracting activities that can not only cause harm but also serve as the basis for a motor vehicle offense.

Charlotte Tween Steals Car And Crashes Into School Bus

Published on: February 6, 2014 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can the police search my car without a warrant?”

Adolescence can be a tough time for parents and children alike. Arguments, defiance and a lack of communication are common hallmarks of that period. While some minor rebellion is typical, stealing a car and then crashing into a school bus is not. However, that’s exactly what a young girl from Charlotte did and she is now facing possible criminal charges after engaging in her joy ride.

According to a spokesman with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the incident began on a weeknight late last month in west Charlotte. Authorities say that a 12-year-old living near Mathis Drive and Parkway Avenue told her mother that she wanted to drive her car. Understandably, the mother told the girl no, believing the matter had been resolved.

However, a short time later she realized that her daughter had gone missing and looked out the window to see that her car was gone too. A short time later a neighbor watched as the girl collided with a school bus, hit a second vehicle and then fled the scene. Police eventually tracked down the girl’s silver car to a nearby parking lot.

North Carolina County Makes Change To Traffic Checkpoints :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: November 5, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?”

Good news for those living in Sylva, North Carolina came early this week when it was announced that residents no longer need to fear discriminatory practices used by the local sheriff’s office. According to a recent statement from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the county will implement changes in the way the department conducts vehicle checkpoints.

Car Tail light Charlotte DWI Lawyer DUI North Carolina Attorney.jpg The changes come a year after the ACLU launched an investigation into the actions of the department following complaints that the supposed seat belt checkpoints were actually being used to target Latinos. The ACLU said that they received information that at one checkpoint alone, 15 undocumented immigrants were detained and ultimately taken into custody. Thankfully charges against 10 of those arrested were eventually dropped.

According to the civil rights organization, there were complaints by many that the traffic checkpoints were being used as an excuse to check the immigration status of drivers. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office routinely conducted these checkpoints with the assistance of officers in the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office. The sheriff’s office initially denied the accusations, saying that they existed only to check for seat belt usage. The ACLU pointed out that federal immigration authorities are not needed to conduct a simple seat belt check.

Additionally, the ACLU noted that courts have been clear that there are only limited valid justifications for conducting a traffic checkpoint. For one thing, checkpoints have been found to be illegal when they are conducted for the purpose of general crime control. This is because such a broad purpose violates the Fourth Amendment’s requirement that a police officer must have a specific suspicion of wrongdoing before stopping a vehicle.

12-Year-Old Girl Leads Charlotte Police On Midnight Car Chase :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: February 21, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can I be arrested without evidence against me?”

Police in Charlotte have said that a 12-year-old girl will be charged after leading police on a chase late at night across several local interstates. A pre-teen in a police car chase? You heard that right.

CMPD says the girl managed to drive more than 50 miles from her home in Gaffney, SC all the way to the I-85/I-77 interchange here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Police say that the girl had threatened to run away before but had never followed through with her threats until earlier this week. The girl is thought to have been unhappy after her father won custody of the girl from her mother who lives in Myrtle Beach. The girl had no friends in Gaffney and wanted to go back there when she stole a neighbor’s vehicle and fled. Her father believes she was headed to Myrtle Beach, but that she got lost along the way and ended up in Charlotte instead.
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The girl was able to get the pickup truck by going to a nearby VFW Hall where a neighbor had left his vehicle after he broke the key off in the ignition. The girls’ father said she was last seen doing chores around the house a little after 11 p.m. when he fell asleep on the couch. He awoke a half hour later and discovered she was missing. He drove around town for about an hour before flagging down a cop and alerting the officer to his missing daughter.

Driving Without A License In North Carolina :: Charlotte DWI DUI Criminal Lawyer

Published on: January 31, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

According to a recent article with MyFox8, the issue of unlicensed drivers in North Carolina has become a serious problem, one that has prompted law enforcement agencies across the state to take notice. Recent statistics reveal that one in every seven drivers in North Carolina is behind the wheel without a valid license. Those numbers raise alarm in the law enforcement community and have prompted some departments to begin cracking down, actively searching for those behind the wheel when they should not be.

According to data from AAA, a whopping 21 percent of deadly accidents in the state involve an unlicensed driver. Another report says that nationwide, 18.2 percent of such fatal crashes involve unlicensed drivers. Between 2007 and 2009, AAA estimates that such unlicensed drivers were involved in crashes where 21,000 people died.

Another issue for those driving without proper permission is that unlicensed driving often leads to other criminal acts. For instance, AAA says that the majority of fatal hit-and-run accidents involve an unlicensed driver. That means that when the driver is ultimately located an additional criminal charge will be piled on top of driving without a license.

Those in the state pushing for a crackdown on unlicensed drivers also point to the financial cost of such accidents. Unlicensed drivers are by their very nature uninsured drivers, which means that when an accident occurs, the other party’s insurer will typically have to foot the bill. This added expense is passed along to everyone else by way of increased monthly premiums to account for the risk associated with unlicensed drivers.

Driving While Nervous Thankfully Not a Crime in North Carolina

Published on: January 10, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled a few weeks ago that police in the state have no right to stop a car merely because the occupants appear to be nervous while driving.

The case involved an incident back in April of 2011 when police officers from Sampson County were operating a speed trap on I-40. The officers noticed a green minivan that dropped its speed from 73 to 65 mph, something that apparently was deemed suspicious by the officers given that it was a 70 mph zone. The officers further claimed that the occupants of the minivan appeared nervous and stared straight ahead as they passed the officers.

The Sampson County officers eventually pursued the van and, as they pulled alongside, noticed that the occupants never made eye contact with the officers. The officers said that the van was driving slowly and crossed a fog line, thus justifying their decision to pull the vehicle over. However, a video from the patrol car shows that the van never crossed the fog line or engaged in any other unsafe driving maneuvers.
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The driver of the van was given a warning by the officers and agreed to a search of the vehicle that revealed a revolver and rifle belonging to her ex-husband and passenger. The ex-husband, Nathaniel Canty, was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. However, after Canty filed an appeal, the North Carolina Court noticed problems with the original traffic stop.