In Wake County, North Carolina you’ll usually be charged with a crime in one of two ways. Either the police stop you believing that you are in the process of committing a crime. This could be something as simple as driving with license revoked (DWLR) or as serious as in the middle of robbing a [...]
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Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
A new group is taking on civil asset forfeiture, the practice by which police agencies seize property even before a person has been found guilty of a crime.
Damon Chetson is a criminal lawyer Raleigh who helps people charged with serious felonies, misdemeanors, and DWI/DUI charges in state and federal courts in North Carolina. He can be reached day or night at (919) 352-9411.
San Francisco DA on the Verge of Mass Dismissals
News out of San Francisco that the District Attorney may dismiss hundreds of cases because of problems with the local crime lab:
San Francisco prosecutors told judges Friday that they could not “ethically go forward” with 46 narcotics trials because of evidence problems arising out of the scandal at the Police Department’s drug lab – signaling [...]
Knowingly possessing drugs…
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Brief Description of the 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), [...]
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