Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “A past conviction is keeping me from finding work what can I do?”
In a shocking statistic that would likely stun most North Carolinians, 1.5 million out of the state’s 9.5 million residents had a criminal record at the end of 2010. Even more amazing is that according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, North Carolina saw a 30 percent increase in the number of residents with criminal records between 2006 and 2008.
Thankfully, recent reforms have helped stem the rising tide, and between 2008 and 2010 the total number of people with criminal records actually fell by one percent. How does that happen? Thanks to efforts by lawmakers to create new ways for people to erase and expunge their old criminal records. Recent efforts which allow adults to expunge first-time nonviolent misdemeanor crimes or low-level felony convictions have helped allow some people to clear their records and pave the way for a better future.
The recent push to allow for expungement of old criminal records is based on the understanding that even old convictions or charges can seriously harm an individual’s ability to be successful. After the recession began, hiring became a much more difficult process and many people discovered that even convictions from decades ago were enough to cause them to lose job opportunities. Given the ease of conducting criminal background checks, almost all employers and landlords are finding out about previous legal trouble. Rather than only deny those who recently committed violent felonies, these landlords and bosses are denying people with decades-old arrests on their records. Beyond lost jobs and difficulty securing housing, criminal records can also lead to the loss of public benefits, state license and can even interfere with child custody cases.
Prior to passage of the law, students were only allowed to have an attorney informally advise them. Lawyers were generally barred from presenting evidence during the hearings, cross-examining witnesses or in any way representing the student during the disciplinary actions.
According to authorities, three men hiked off into the woods in rural Caldwell County over the weekend. Late Monday night the local sheriff’s office received a 911 call from Sonny Hyatt, who told dispatchers he and his two friends, Thomas Imler and Eric Schmidt, were lost in the woods. Authorities tracked down Hyatt using the GPS coordinates in his cellphone and rescued the three men.
The panel of three judges decided Tuesday that North Carolina’s 2008 law on the subject, the “Protect Children From Sexual Predators Act” is too vague. The panel noted that the law broadly denies sex offenders the right to participate in a wide range of online activities without any attempt to explain how the blanket ban protects others.
Experts say that detectives have begun cracking cases thanks to the technology that links mug shots with pictures pulled off of various social networking websites. Beyond just social networking sites, the facial recognition unit also combs pictures collected from a vast network of surveillance cameras.
Police say they pulled over Rigoberto Gomez-Contino early Tuesday morning as part of a routine traffic stop along Highway 321 in Lincolnton. After pulling over Contino, they asked for permission to search the vehicle where they discovered a suspiciously out of place blue teddy bear in the backseat. A quick inspection of the bear uncovered three ounces of methamphetamine hiding inside the stuffed animal. Police then arrested Contino and booked him on drug charges.
Police initially said that David Worley was involved in a single-car crash on Ray Road when he ran off the side of the road and was thrown from the car after it flipped several times. Police attributed the crash to Worley’s speeding. However, authorities now say the accident was not the cause of the man’s death, but instead wounds that were inflicted on him earlier that afternoon by his wife.
Police in Albemarle, NC say they have arrested Way after he was accused of sex crimes connected with children from a Baptist church located in Stanly County. The sexual contact is alleged to have taken place in late June at the North Carolina Baptist Assembly in Fort Caswell.
Police say the accident was thankfully not at a high rate of speed, but did cause injuries to the child. Witnesses have revealed that the child was dragged nearly 45 feet before the young driver stopped her car. The child suffered a concussion as well as some cuts and bruises, but is expected to be fine.
The case began back in 2008 when Newman was arrested in Portland for driving with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08 percent. Newman was charged with drunk driving and had his case move on to trial where his attorney initially floated the idea that sleepdriving at the time of the arrest was the cause and not his client’s knowing decision to get behind the wheel intoxicated. The lower court judge refused to hear the evidence and convicted Newman of drunk driving. It was only after appealing the case to the Oregon Supreme Court that Newman had a chance to make his case.