manslaughter

Manslaughter Charges in North Carolina

Published on: December 1, 2021 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I have an outstanding warrant, what should I do?”

Manslaughter charges occur when someone dies due to the negligence of someone else. If you are charged with manslaughter you are facing severe consequences if you are found guilty. Manslaughter is different from murder because of the state of mind of the defendant at the time of commission of the crime. Murder shows intent, malice, or aforethought or extreme disregard for human life. When a person is killed without specific intent to murder, the likely charge will be manslaughter. Because manslaughter charges are considered serious, you will want to fight the case with help from an experienced criminal defense attorney in North Carolina.

North Carolina Appeals Court Rules on the Use of Defensive Force in the Home

Published on: August 8, 2018 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”

In 2011, the North Carolina General Assembly updated the law governing the use of defensive force in the home. Since then, there has been a need for clarification of the newly enacted statute and cases in which the court interprets the statute and indicates how it should be applied in future situations. In State v. Kuhns, the North Carolina Court the Appeals clarifies part of the new statute, G.S. 14-51.2.

Florida Court Decides Whether Cars Count As Deadly Weapons

Published on: December 6, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “If I have an outstanding warrant, what should I do?”

When you think of deadly weapons most people imagine the classics: guns and knives. Crimes that include heightened penalties for being committed with deadly weapons thus typically involve defendants who had a gun or knife in their possession at the time. Though this is true in many cases, there are plenty of other items that have been deemed deadly weapons. The Florida Supreme Court will soon weigh in on this issue and decide whether an automobile ought to be deemed a deadly weapon.

Mistrial Declared In Charlotte Police Officer Manslaughter Case

Published on: August 25, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police office Randall Kerrick avoided conviction on manslaughter charges last week when the North Carolina jury deadlocked, forcing the judge presiding over the case to declare a mistrial. Experts say it is unclear how prosecutors will move forward, whether they will bring Kerrick up on similar charges a second time or consider other options.

Manslaughter charge for teen who encouraged friend to commit suicide

Published on: February 24, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Should I ever plead guilty to a charge?”

The criminal law, it is said, evolves as technology does, and criminal codes and doctrines grow to fit the new circumstances and technologies that criminals, would-be criminals and unknowing criminals commit. It should come as no surprise, then, that longstanding criminal doctrines are being applied to actions taken on devices that have become ubiquitous in modern American life: phones.

Except, devices that people carry around these days have come a long way from the banana-sized box lawyer Johnny Cochran made famous carrying around in the early-to-mid 1990s. It is said that the law cannot keep pace with society, evolving about twenty years slower than the culture, but even the United States Supreme Court has caught on to the uniqueness of the modern “cell phone,” calling the devices “minicomputers that also happen to have the capacity to be used as a telephone” in a landmark case last year called Riley v. California.

In that case, the high court unanimously rejected the United States government’s position that when a person is arrested, a law-enforcement officer is entitled to seize everything off the arrestee’s phone. The court ruled officers need a warrant to do that.

Phones—or whatever one calls them nowadays—are still bringing individuals into criminal jeopardy, however, as a recent case from Massachusetts illustrates.