Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
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 secure a warrant prior to procuring a blood test against suspected drunk drivers. Instead, the Court decided that police officers should usually obtain judicial approval prior to ordering a blood draw.
The case revolved around Missourian, James McNeely’s 2010 arrest. After being pulled over by a state trooper, McNeely failed several field sobriety tests and then refused to submit to a breathalyzer test to determine his blood alcohol level. Given his refusal, the officer took McNeely to a local hospital where he was strapped to a table and had his blood forcibly drawn, all without ever bothering to secure a warrant.
McNeely attempted to block the blood test from appearing in court, arguing that the results were illegally obtained. Prosecutors claimed that given the time of night and location of the arrest, that a warrant would have been impractical and taken at least two hours to secure. This delay was unacceptable, in their opinion, given that it might allow enough time for alcohol to leave McNeely’s system.
Justice Sotomayor, writing for the majority, rejected Missouri’s argument and decided that the police almost always have enough time to properly secure a warrant before forcing a blood draw. Sotomayor was willing to concede that some cases might require extraordinary actions without a warrant, but said that such instances would be dealt with on an individual basis.
The legislation was passed unanimously by the North Carolina House this week which would add another crime to the list of those that require registration with the state. The measure says that if the trafficking involved minors, or was committed with the intent of creating sexual servitude then registration is mandatory. The Senate passed the measure last month which means the legislation will now head to the governor for his signature.
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.
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.