Let’s say you’re very intoxicated. Before you got intoxicated, you put some marijuana in your pocket. Later in the evening you’re picked up for drunk and disorderly conduct, and taken to the jail for booking.
At the jail, you empty your pockets, and out tumbles the pot.
Can you be charged with Knowingly Possessing a [...]
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Criminal lawyer Raleigh Knowingly possessing drugs…
Criminal lawyer Raleigh The Death Penalty in America
Like many defense attorneys, I am opposed to the death penalty. But unlike, many defense attorneys, I am not opposed to the death penalty because I think it’s immoral. I’m opposed to the death penalty because I think – as with most government programs – it is open to corruption and errors that [...]
Reforming North Carolina’s Sentencing Laws
South Carolina is reforming its sentencing laws to reduce the number of people sent to prison for lengthy sentences involving non-violent crimes.
People convicted of nonviolent crimes account for nearly half of the state’s 25,000 inmates, and nearly one in five inmates are imprisoned for drug crimes, according to the commission’s February report.
The bill’s highlights include:
1. [...]
Criminal lawyer Raleigh DWI Checkpoints in Raleigh and Wake County
This weekend police in Wake County conducted checkpoints that ended in arrest of 130 drivers. These checkpoints are sometimes procedurally flawed.
I recently saw a case where police had pre-filled in their reports before setting up the checkpoint and then tried to claim the reports accurately reflected their observations. The judge didn’t buy that.
If [...]
Criminal lawyer Raleigh Federal Bail Reform Act
If you’re charged with a federal crime and the federal government seeks to have you detained prior to your trial, you will have a federal detention hearing. In Raleigh and Wake County, these hearings are held at the Terry Sanford Building which is the home to the Eastern District of North Carolina. Durham [...]
Criminal Lawyer Raleigh Serving Raleigh and Wake County
The Chetson Firm represents clients in both state and federal courts, on serious felonies, misdemeanors and DWI (traffic) offenses.
The Chetson Firm has experience representing clients in serious drug cases, violent felonies, larceny, sex offenses, misdemeanor DWI cases, larcenies, rapes, and non-serious assaults and drug offenses.
The Chetson Firm serves people throughout Wake County and the Research [...]
Federal gun charges, Project Safe Neighborhoods
If you’re convicted of felony gun crime in Raleigh’s state court – the Wake County Courthouse – at most you could face five or six years in prison, depending on the charge. The more serious the charge, the longer the time.
These charges include felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm (14-71.1), [...]
What Happens if You Refuse a DWI Breathalyzer?
When is a refusal not a refusal? Under North Carolina’s implied consent laws, anyone driving on the roads of North Carolina “consents” to a breathalyzer or blood examine if an officer has reason to believe the person has been driving while impaired.
If someone “willfully refuses” to submit to a test, the person has [...]
NC Criminal Lawyer: Attorney-Client Confidentiality
Things you say to a non-lawyer may be used against you in a court of law. In particular, things you say to friends, to loved ones (depending on the relationship), to colleagues, to police, to investigators, to co-defendants, to conspirators, to enemies, etc. can and most probably will be used against you in [...]
Confrontation Clause and DWI Cases – Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
For years North Carolina, like many states, permitted the State to introduce the results of a DWI defendant’s breath test. That meant that the Defendant’s attorney would have no opportunity to question the breath analyst on the stand about the procedure used, whether the breath analyst was certified at the time the test was [...]
