Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog

North Carolina Legislature Considers Changes To Marijuana Laws :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: April 16, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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 minor marijuana possession offenses.

The legislation would reduce penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. Those found to have such a small quantity of the drug would only be subject to a fine, changing the classification of possession to a civil infraction rather than a criminal offense. The bill would also reduce the punishment for those found guilty of possessing between one and one and a half ounces of marijuana by making the crime a Class 3 misdemeanor. Marijuana Leaf Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Defense Attorney Lawyer.jpg

Currently, North Carolina law says that possession of a half ounce of marijuana or less is a criminal misdemeanor and is punishable with a fine of up to $200 and a possible suspended jail sentence. Possession of between a half-ounce and one and a half ounces is punishable with up to 45 days in prison and a $1,000 fine. Possession of more than one and a half ounces of marijuana is punishable with up to 8 months in prison and a fine.

U.S. Supreme Court Comes Down Against Intrusive Drug Dogs :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: April 11, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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 evidence obtained after police used a drug dog outside a house that was being used to grow marijuana inadmissible in court. The High Court found that using the drug-sniffing dog, named Franky, to search the house from the front porch was a violation of Joelis Jardines’ constitutional rights.

The case arose in 2006 when police were given information from an anonymous tip program that drug activity had taken place in the Jardines home. A few weeks later, officers decided to investigate the tip further and took Franky out for a walk, being sure to slowly go by the man’s front door. Franky then made the alert that drugs were on the premises and the police used that alert to justify a warrant to search the residence. The search turned up 25 pounds of pot and led to Jardines’ arrest on drug trafficking charges.
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Jardines filed an appeal and eventually made his way before the Florida Supreme Court which found that using Franky as a basis for the search warrant was illegal. The Supreme Court was then required to sort through whether the police were allowed to use the drug sniffing dog from the front porch as a basis for the search.

Statistics Show 15% Rise In North Carolina Domestic Violence Deaths :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: April 9, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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 16 deaths, brings the total dead in 2012 to 122. The rise has alarmed law enforcement officials who have now said that more will be done to stop domestic abuse before it turns deadly.

The statistics showed that out of the murders that took place last year, 78 of the victims were female and 44 were male. The offenders were overwhelmingly male, 104 versus 18 female offenders. A tragic statistic contained in the new reports is that out of the 122 people killed, seven had taken out protective orders at the time they were murdered. Hand over mouth Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Defense Attorney Lawyer.jpg

Attorney General Roy Cooper said that Wake County saw the highest number of domestic violence murders, 11, while Mecklenburg County saw the second highest, with eight. Robeson County, a relatively small place in terms of population ranked much higher than expected, coming in fourth with five domestic violence murders.

Because law enforcement agencies believe more can be done to stem the rise in domestic violence deaths, the state legislature have proposed several bills aimed at increasing law enforcement’s power to regulate the matter. One proposal would require that prosecutors be informed if those out on probation for domestic violence fail to satisfy their offender treatment programs. Another proposal, House Bill 209, would require that consent protective orders be treated like traditional protective orders.

North Carolina Legislature Takes Up Drone Control Legislation :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: April 4, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

A recent piece of legislation proposed by state Representative Pricey Harrison would create limits on how law enforcement agencies across the state would be allowed to use unmanned drones. The Bill would only allow the use of drones to help conduct searches and rescues as well as when there is a threat to life, potential serious damage to property, an imminent escape or destruction of evidence.

Security Camera Charlotte NC DUI DWI Criminal Lawyer Attorney.jpg The bill says that drones could not be used to gather criminal evidence or collect data unless there has been a search warrant issued by a judge. Beyond a valid warrant, the only other exception is in cases whether there is a reasonable suspicion that someone’s life is in danger.

The legislation was prompted by public outcry over reports of civilian police department acquiring drones to patrol the skies. Even more worrying was the lack of oversight for the potentially powerful surveillance tools. Few rules existed about who would control the devices or how they might be used. The bill was meant to try and reassure residents of North Carolina that drones will not be used in ways that violate their civil liberties.

The ACLU has come out in favor of the bill, saying that it’s a good first step to protect residents’ privacy. The ACLU of North Carolina is actively lobbying lawmakers to pass the bill which it says works to safeguard and regulate the use of drones early on before they have had the chance to proliferate across the state.

Macy’s Employee At SouthPark Mall Charged With Embezzlement :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: April 2, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

An employee of Macy’s in Charlotte’s SouthPark Mall was charged yesterday with embezzling more than $2,000 from the department store. The woman, Shamika Freeman, 27, was arrested over the weekend and later released from Mecklenburg jail on a $3,000 bond.

The woman was a cashier at Macy’s and was questioned by company officials after they uncovered a series of suspicious transactions on her terminal. Managers at the store decided to inform policy after failing to resolve the situation and called Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Saturday afternoon.

The woman admitted to Macy’s management that she had made 17 fake refund transactions since last September. The cashier told her bosses that she knew in each case that the items that were being returned had never actually been paid for. The cashier then returned the items and placed the money on store gift cards and gave the gift cards to a currently unknown person.

Cash Register Charlotte North Carolina DUI DWI Criminal Lawyer Attorney.gif Embezzlement is a kind of property crime. It happens when a person, who has been entrusted to manage or monitor someone else’s money or property, steals all or part of that money or property for their own personal gain. The key to charging someone with embezzlement is that the person had legal access to another’s money or property, but not legal ownership of it.

North Carolina Legislators Consider Granting Prosecutors Power To Try Children As Adults :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: March 28, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

A battle in the state legislature is brewing over a bill that would grant prosecutors dramatically more power in determining which juveniles are tried as adults. The legislation, House Bill 217, would allow prosecutors to decide whether to try children as adults so long as they are 13 or older and have been charged with certain serious felonies.

Watch Children Sign Charlotte NC DUI DWI Criminal Lawyer Attorney.jpg North Carolina law currently leaves the decision of whether to try a child in adult court up to juvenile court judges. The measure has sparked a huge outcry from judges and defense attorneys who say giving prosecutors so much power is a bad move. Many believe that judges are in the best position to weigh not only the best interest of the child, but also the best interest of the community before making such an important decision.

Some defense attorneys have worried that prosecutors, who are often required to appear tough on crime, will have very little incentive to keep children in the juvenile justice system. The problem is that the community is seldom made safer by trying kids as adults. Additionally, the children are almost never helped by being moved into an adult prison system that is not equipped to care for them or offer much in the way of rehabilitation.

Serious Questions Raised About North Carolina’s Lack Of Protections For Criminal Biological Evidence :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: March 26, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

It is tragic to think that there are people in prison in North Carolina today all because courts or police lost or discarded important evidence that could have been used to secure their freedom.

Rape kits, dirty sheets and blood samples are just some of things that have been tossed aside because courts and police officers simply did not know how valuable they would become in the future. As scientific understanding grew by leaps and bounds over the last several decades, evidence that could be used to free innocent suspects has increasingly been discovered to be lost forever.

One especially terrible tale of North Carolina’s criminal evidence storage system is found in the case of Dwayne Dali. Dali was released from prison in 2007 after a nightgown that was part of the rape he had been convicted of was found and DNA tested after years of having been misplaced. While this is great news for Dali, there are potentially dozens or hundreds more who insist they are innocent yet will never be able to prove this because evidence surrounding their crime was either lost or destroyed. Police DNA Charlotte NC DUI DWI Criminal Attorney Lawyer.jpg

The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence has said it has run across 45 separate instances where DNA testing could definitively settle the issue of a defendant’s guilt or innocence, but the evidence was either lost or destroyed. In 2001, legislators in the state passed a law that laid out which items should be kept in a case and for how long. It also created strict rules for how the destruction should proceed, with all destructions requiring approval by a judge only after defense attorneys and public defenders had been notified.

NC Supreme Court Says “Life Sentence” Means Prisoners Must Remain In Jail For Life :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

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

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

The North Carolina Supreme Court issued an important ruling just last week making clear that those criminals sentenced to life in prison for murder, rape and other serious crimes during a period of the 1970s would truly be kept in prison for life.

The ruling comes about a month after the North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys for two inmates who said they should be released from prison according to the language of the laws then in place.
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Curiously, North Carolina statutes between 1974 and 1978 stated that a life sentence was defined as a period of 80 years behind bars. While this seems like quite a lot of time, given the life expectancy of most people, good behavior and other time credits given for work in prison can cut this almost in half. This meant that some people sentenced to life during that time from could be nearing release if the prior statutory language prevailed.

Clyde Vernon Lovette and Charles Lynch, the two inmates seeking release, agued that they had earned enough credits for good behavior that their sentences should have been reduced allowing them to be released from prison. Lovette was in jail for a 1978 second-degree murder conviction while Lynch was convicted of two counts of second-degree burglary. Each man received a life sentence for his crime.

North Carolina Woman Takes Plea Deal Over Stealing From Neighbor’s Dead Son :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: March 19, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

A North Carolina woman pled guilty to stealing from her neighbor’s dead child. The horrible incident took place in September of 2012 after a one-year-old boy drowned in a neighbor’s pond after wandering away from his Rowan County, NC house.
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The day of the young boy’s funeral, two neighbors, Jessica Williams and Bobby Milam, broke into the family’s home. While inside they stole some expensive items including jewelry and electronics which were found at a pawn shop and inside the mobile home shared by Williams and Milam. Several personal items were also stolen including a wall ornament, a picture frame and a book that contained the boy’s birth certificate. Bizarrely, those same items were later found partially burnt in a fire pit behind their house.

A few days later police had zeroed in on the two and arrested and charged both with burglary. Just last week Jessica Williams pleaded guilty to her charges. Williams made what is known as an Alford Plea, meaning that she did not admit to the crime but did acknowledge that there was enough evidence to convict her. Under an Alford plea, the defendant must admit that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

ACLU Investigates Military Technologies Purchased By Civilian Police Departments in North Carolina :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: March 14, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

The North Carolina Chapter of the ACLU has announced that it is investigating actions by police departments across the state to purchase sophisticated military technology that it says may be used to spy on citizens. The action was prompted by the Monroe, NC police department’s decision to reveal it would be spending $44,000 to purchase a drone of its own.

The Monroe City Council voted last week to authorize the purchase of a battery-powered mini-drone that contains a rotating infrared camera. The Monroe Police Department insists it will not use the drone to spy on innocent citizens and that it will put detailed procedures in place before the drone is ever used. They say they expect it to be used at crime scenes, in searches or in the case of natural disasters.

Despite these assurances, the ACLU has filed several public records requests with Monroe and other police organization across the state to obtain more information about exactly how such devices will be used. The ACLU has also filed such requests with Mecklenburg County along with 61 other police agencies in the state.

Police Drone Charlotte NC DUI DWI Criminal Lawyer Attorney.jpg The state ACLU chapter has released a statement expressing its concern over the increasing use of military equipment and technologies by traditional law enforcement agencies. The group says its goal in filing these public records requests is to make sure that these frightening technologies and tactics are not being deployed without considerable oversight and that citizens’ legal rights are still being upheld.