Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
A recent report in the Charlotte Observer indicates that former United States Senator John Edwards is facing serious criminal charges. He has evidently elected to take the case to trial and jury selection is set to begin any day now. Edwards is facing significant criminal charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years and that could force him to pay $1.5 million in fines.
Last year, the federal government indicted Edwards on campaign finance violations. The government alleged that the then Senator used money that was donated to his presidential campaign to keep his mistress, Rielle Hunter, hidden from the public so as not to damage his chances of winning the election. 
An individual close to the investigation and the case told the Charlotte Observer that Edwards was offered a plea deal where he would only serve 6 months in jail and still be able to practice law, but Edwards rejected that offer. He said that he would take his chances with a jury. In a press conference, Edwards said, “After all these years, I finally get my day in court and people get to hear my side of this, and what actually happened . . . And what I know with complete and absolute certainty is I didn’t violate campaign laws and I never for a second believed I was violating campaign laws.”
The trial is one that all will be sure to watch, not only because of the celebrity of the defendant, but because the case is poised to be legally significant. At the center of the case is the question of what constitutes a campaign donation. The legal debate surrounds Edwards’ knowledge of payments made by his campaign finance chairman, Fred Baron, and another donor, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon whose funds paid for Rielle Hunter’s medical care while she was pregnant with Edwards’ child, as well as hotels and private jets. Edwards denies any knowledge of those funds, but his attorneys believe that even if he did have knowledge of the money that knowledge would not be a violation of federal law. This is because Edwards’ motive for using the money was to keep his dying wife, Elizabeth, from finding out about the affair between him and Hunter, and not to influence the outcome of the presidential election.
In addition to the legal arguments, Edwards’ attorneys are also claiming that the prosecution has political motives. In several pre-trial hearings, lead attorney Abbe Lowell, claimed that the government’s reasoning was flawed and that the grand jury was tainted “and that the Republican federal prosecutor who led the investigation, now-congressional candidate George Holding, was motivated by partisanship.” Even the Federal Election Commission has declined to proceed against Edwards after reviewing his case. The Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a brief in support of Edwards’ legal position, saying “In the United States, we don’t prosecute people for being loathsome, we prosecute them for violating the law… The real reason for these payments is obvious: To prevent Mr. Edwards’ cancer-stricken wife from finding out about the affair. This makes him despicable, but not a criminal.”
He is described as a Hispanic male, between the ages of 25 and 30, with dark spikey hair. Since the incident has happened, investigators are taking it seriously and are vigorously investigating the case, but they have yet to arrest anyone for the attempted abduction.
The technology allows police to track not only the calls made by a cell phone user, but also the phone’s location, and by implication, the location of the cell phone’s user. The problem is that the police can obtain that information from the cell phone service provider without the knowledge or consent of the cell phone user. This lack of knowledge or consent prompted the ACLU to conduct a study of the process and procedures that law enforcement officials use to obtain cell phone records. The study revealed a disturbing trend.
The initial investigation by the Sanford, Florida police department did not result in an arrest of Zimmerman. Since then, Martin’s death had received national media attention and now the case is under investigation by the Florida State’s Attorney’s office and the Justice Department.
Hembree also told investigators that the murder happened while his mother was in the kitchen.
At that point, the Cabarrus County Sherriff and the State Bureau of Investigation began to take a closer look at the town’s financial records. The article in the Charlotte Observer does not go into detail regarding the discrepancies in the financial records.
After the incident, the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan suffered even more. Many of the Afghani officials wanted Bales to be tried in Afghanistan, but since Bales allegedly surrendered immediately after the incident, the United States quickly transported him off of the battlefield and his wife and two children were moved onto the local military base closest to their home for their protection.
Residents are beginning to consider moving to different areas of the city to avoid the potential dangers.
In addition to the detectives, the squad also has its own prosecutor dedicated to ensuring that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. Barry Cook, once a member of the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office, came out of retirement to assist the cold case squad in prosecuting the offenders that they are successful in apprehending. Cook said, “There’s a lot of satisfaction in playing a part in solving these cold case sex crimes and putting whoever’s responsible for these crimes in prison.”
After turning himself in to the sheriff, he was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. Mayfield and his attorney vehemently deny all the charges against him. According to his attorney, Robert Freeman, Mayfield would be entering a plea of “not guilty.”