Tag Archive: Apex Criminal Lawyer

Jail Visits at the Public Safety Center, Wake County

I recently spoke to an attorney who mentioned that there are probably only two or three dozen Raleigh criminal lawyers working in Raleigh who regularly visit clients in jail. I was shocked. I have always made it a practice to visit clients regularly in jail. In law school, when I was working with the Public…

Share

Alford Pleas and Sex Offense, Rape, Sex Crimes in Raleigh, Cary, Apex

What happens if you are facing many years in prisonA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of CorrectionsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of PrisonsA prison is a facility, operated by the Department of Corrections in North Carolina or the Bureau of…

Share

Happy Thanksgiving

I work seven (7) days a week. I’m available by phone at (919) 352-9411 whenever I’m awake. If I get a call, I return the call promptly. I work like this because I know that people expect high quality service, and because people who call me usually have very serious questions about serious traffic and criminal…

Share

Google enters the Electronic Legal Research Business. Watch out Lexis-Nexis!

At last, Google has launched a resource aimed at lawyers. If you’re a lawyer, you’re locked into paying for either Westlaw or for Lexis-Nexis.  Those are the dominant players in the electronic legal research market.  But their services are awful.  Very poorly constructed, very difficult to use, very slow, hard to learn a new search…

Share

Eye Witness Testimony: Not Reliable

There are all kinds of studies that show that eyewitnesses are not very reliable.Eyewitnesses will swear up and down that they saw a 25 year old white male in shorts and grey t-shirt.  Or that they saw a 35 year old black male, about 5’4, wearing jeans and a hoodie. They will swear that they…

Share

The pressure to plead in Wake County. Piling up the charges.

Most people don’t realize that the severe penalties that are attached to many crimes in North Carolina and in the United States create real pressure on defendants to plead guilty, even when they are not guilty of the crime. Ironically, offering a defendant a very “sweet” or favorable pleaA plea agreementA plea agreement is usually…

Share

Thoughts from a Raleigh Criminal Lawyer: Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts

This post is about a technical area of the law, so if you’re not interested in Evidence Law or the Confrontation Clause, this won’t interest you. The United States Constitution says that defendants have the right to confront witnesses who testify against them.  This is the general constitutional rule that prevents hearsay in criminal cases. …

Share

Introduction to North Carolina Sex Offenses

Sex Offenses in North Carolina are punished harshly.  In addition, North Carolina has a sex offender registryThe sex offender registry is a list of all people who have committed reportable crimes and who have not been removed from the registry by petition. A person placed on the registry must avoid certain locations where children are…

Share

Make your Court Dates in Wake County, North Carolina

So you’ve been arrested or gotten a ticket. And you’ve got a court date. But you’ve lost the little piece of paper on which the court date was written. Or you didn’t hear the judge when he spoke really quickly and gave you your court date. Or you’re really nervous and don’t know what to…

Share

Advice from a Criminal Lawyer: Facebook, MySpace, Social Networking

MySpace, Facebook, Social Networking… all the kids are doing the social networking thing these days.  Twittering too!  A lot of adults also use these tools, including LinkedIn and on and on. They’re fun, they’re great ways to keep in touch with friends, to reconnect with old friends, and to share what’s going on in your…

Share