Or allegations may arise that you have committed a crime in the past. The police may investigate for a period of time, during which they will probably try to interview you, friends, witnesses, and acquaintances. When they think they have enough information to charge you with a crime, the police officer will generally swear out a warrant for your arrest.

You will not know that an arrest warrant has been sworn out for you until one of two things happen. Either the police show up at your door or at your work to arrest you. Or, sometimes, the police request you either directly show up at the police station or request your lawyer to surrender you to the police station for your arrest.

Obviously it’s much more preferable to receive a call from the police officer asking you to surrender yourself. First, it prevents the embarrassment of you being arrested and placed in cuffs in front of your family or your co-workers. Second, it prevents the chance for a confrontation. Everything is peaceful and orderly with a surrendered arrest.

I recommend that anyone who is being accused of a crime or being asked about a crime where the questions are accusatory, should seek out an attorney. Why? An attorney can help facilitate the surrender, and can work to secure your release from jail. An attorney will also help you preserve your rights, and protect you and your family from further criminal liability.

A generic term for all members of the bar. An attorney is someone legally appointed or empowered to act for another, usually, but not always, a lawyer. An attorney at law is a lawyer. A barrister is an English lawyer who is specially trained and appears exclusively as a trial lawyer in higher courts. He is retained by a solicitor, not directly by the client. There is no equivalent term in the United States. Counselor, when used in a legal sense, means a person who conducts a case in court, usually, but not always, a lawyer. A counselor at law is a lawyer. Counsel frequently is used collectively for a group of counselors. A solicitor in England is a lawyer who performs legal services for the public. A solicitor appears in lower courts but does not have the right to appear in higher courts, which are reserved to barristers. A solicitor in the United States is a lawyer employed by a governmental body. Solicitor is generally a job description, but in some agencies it is a formal title. Solicitor general is the formal title for a chief law officer (where there is no attorney general) or for the chief assistant to the law officer (when there is an attorney general). Capitalize when used before a name. Do not use lawyer as a formal title.”

The HGNHGN is one of the battery of three tests that are part of NHTSA's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Nystagmus is the involuntary jerking of the eyes. Nystagmus can be caused by impairment from alcohol (or other depressants). is not a sight test. It does not measure how well you can see. It merely measures whether there are involuntary movements or twitching (nystagmus) in the eye as it moves from left to right and up and down. These two types of nystagmus – horizontal and vertical – occur for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons they occur is because the person is impaired.

The problem with the HGNHGN is one of the battery of three tests that are part of NHTSA's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Nystagmus is the involuntary jerking of the eyes. Nystagmus can be caused by impairment from alcohol (or other depressants). test is that first it is many times not administered properly. If the person is tested in front of flashing police lights, or if the person is tested while seated in their car with their head twisted, the results will not be accurate.

In addition, nystagmus can be caused by different medical conditions that are unrelated to whether the person has been drinking. For instance, if the person has suffered from head trauma in the past, or has consumed significant quantities of caffeine, the person may show nystagmus (or twitching) without actually being impaired.

For this reason, while HGNHGN is one of the battery of three tests that are part of NHTSA's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Nystagmus is the involuntary jerking of the eyes. Nystagmus can be caused by impairment from alcohol (or other depressants). is considered a very reliable SFSTStandardized Field Sobriety Tests are tests developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the 1980s and 1990s for use in the detection of impairment in drivers. Theses tests include the Horizontal Gaze NystagmusHGN is one of the battery of three tests that are part of NHTSA's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Nystagmus is the involuntary jerking of the eyes. Nystagmus can be caused by impairment from alcohol (or other depressants). test, the Walk and Turn test, the One Legged StandThe one legged stand test is part of the SFST battery of tests developed by NHTSA. The test requires the subject subject to stand, arms by side, with one leg raised off the ground and count to 30. test., it can be more easily shown to be faulty in court under the right questioning by a Raleigh criminal lawyer.

It’s important to understand that the police do not have to read you your Miranda Rights unless 1) you are in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. and 2) they want to ask you questions. If you are sitting in your home talking to a police officer, you are probably not in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. and therefore the police officer is not required to read you your Miranda Rights.

If you are in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. down at the police station, but the police officer doesn’t want to ask you questions, he does not need to read you your rights.

Miranda Rights, therefore, are limited protections. If you say something or sign something while not in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest., then Miranda does not apply. Similarly, if you are in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. and simply blurt out that you are guilty, then Miranda does not apply because your admission will be ruled a spontaneous utterance.

Here’s a rule of thumb: you should never say anything on Facebook anything you don’t want to hear again in a court of law.

The fact of the matter is that most people will never been charged with a crime. But for the people who do, prosecutors and investigators also know about facebook and other websites, and know that a simple Google search may reveal additional information that could incriminate the defendant.

For instance, if you use drugs, don’t say so on Facebook. And if you deal drugs, don’t flash gang signs in your Facebook profile picture. You may be laughing, but you’d be surprised by the number of people – particularly young people – who say stupid and even criminal things on facebook or twitter, and who, perhaps inadvertently, find themselves charged with a crime.

Police and prosecutors know that Facebook exists.  Many of them, in fact, use Facebook.  And they will search Facebook or other Social Media, or even simply Google, before your case is tried or before you are sentenced.

When you stand up before the judge and say, “Your Honor, I have changed my ways,” you better be sure that the prosecutorA District Attorney is the represented of the State, usually elected by the people of a judicial district, to prosecute crimes on behalf of the State. The Wake County District Attorney is Colon Willoughby, Jr. A District Attorney usually has a staff, including assistant district attorneys who are the actual prosecutors who handle most of the day-to-day caseload. doesn’t turn around with a printout of your Facebook or MySpace page where you’ve talked about getting drunk or high the weekend before.

In addition, if a prosecutorA District Attorney is the represented of the State, usually elected by the people of a judicial district, to prosecute crimes on behalf of the State. The Wake County District Attorney is Colon Willoughby, Jr. A District Attorney usually has a staff, including assistant district attorneys who are the actual prosecutors who handle most of the day-to-day caseload. wants to prove that you are in a gang, appearing in photographs flashing gang signs, or in gang colors, or even appearing to flash gang signs, even if you’re simply pretending, is a sure way to have a prosecutorA District Attorney is the represented of the State, usually elected by the people of a judicial district, to prosecute crimes on behalf of the State. The Wake County District Attorney is Colon Willoughby, Jr. A District Attorney usually has a staff, including assistant district attorneys who are the actual prosecutors who handle most of the day-to-day caseload. and a judge decide that you should be labeled a gang member and that restrictions should be placed on who you hang out with.

That’s because it’s much easier to detect alcohol consumption – the smell, the fact that the person came from a bar, the fact that they refer to their drinking. In addition, where drivers aren’t truthful, but police have probable causeProbable cause is the standard of proof that justifies the arrest (or indictmentAn indictment is a finding by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An indictment, rather, is a method by which a prosecutor moves a case into Superior Court for resolution by plea or trial by jury.) of an individual. In order to find probable cause, a cautious officer, acting in good faith, must have sufficient information to believe that a crime has been or is being committed. to suspect drinking and driving, police have a fairly inexpensive instrument – the Intox EC/IR – to test the person.

But testing people for medicines or other impairing substances requires either urine or, more properly, blood tests, which cost hundreds of dollar per person. That makes those tests much more cumbersome and expensive for law enforcement agencies to perform, and makes prosecution of driving while impaired with drugs ore medicines much tougher to do.

Second, there is the loss of trust. Because embezzlement occurs where one person has been entrusted with assets – money, goods, accounts, credit cards – the theft of  those goods will cause sometimes irreparable harm to the relationship, and this can be most damaging where there was a friendship.

Third, embezzlement results in a gain to the person who has committed the crime.

There are civil and criminal aspects to embezzlement. The person who has Raleigh embezzled may be required to pay back the amount owed. This can be done if the person who has embezzled Raleigh has been sued in a civil court.

Second, there is the criminal aspect to a Raleigh embezzlement. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, embezzlement is a felony – regardless of the amount taken – in North Carolina.

Third, there are the tax implications. If a large amount has been taken, and not repaid, and not reported on taxes, there may be tax violations that also stem from the the alleged illegal conduct.

If you want to talk to a lawyer about how you can avoid criminal liability from a Raleigh embezzlement or North Carolina embezzlement charge, feel free to contact me.

A Raleigh embezzlement case typically involves an employee – someone with access to a company credit card or company bank accounts – who has taken money from the accounts or charged personal items to the credit card. Since embezzlement is considered a violation of trust, it is categorized as a felony, regardless of the amount in question. Theoretically if you are accused of embezzlement Raleigh of just $100, you’d face a felony.

There are two levels of embezzlement North Carolina. The first level is any amount up to $100,000 and is a Class H felony. The second level is any amount of $100,000 or more and is a Class C felony.

The importance of the value may be crucial to your case. That’s because a Class C felony is a much more serious crime, resulting in mandatory 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 Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. 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 Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. time of 5 years or more.

A Class H felony, for a first time offender, may result in probationProbation may be either unsupervised or supervised. Unsupervised probation generally simply requires the person stay out of trouble for a specified period. If the person violates probation (perhaps by committing a new crime) the person may be required to serve an active sentence. Supervised probation requires the person to check in with a probation officer, and may have additional requirements., and no 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 Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. 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 Prisons in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. in the federal system, where an offender is sent to serve an active prison sentence of some length. time at all.

One of the problems with embezzlement is the dispute over the amount of money taken. Where the person has admitted to taking some money, the question will be how much did they take. That’s important for two reasons.

First, again, if the amount equals or exceeds $100,000, the crime is much more serious.

Second, if the person is placed on probationProbation may be either unsupervised or supervised. Unsupervised probation generally simply requires the person stay out of trouble for a specified period. If the person violates probation (perhaps by committing a new crime) the person may be required to serve an active sentence. Supervised probation requires the person to check in with a probation officer, and may have additional requirements., and ordered to pay restitution, the question is how much restitution must the person pay back. A failure to pay back the restitution could result in a violation of probationProbation may be either unsupervised or supervised. Unsupervised probation generally simply requires the person stay out of trouble for a specified period. If the person violates probation (perhaps by committing a new crime) the person may be required to serve an active sentence. Supervised probation requires the person to check in with a probation officer, and may have additional requirements., and an active sentence. So it’s important that someone accused of embezzlement Raleigh not be required to pay back more than is truly owed.

In tough economic times, sometimes victims – companies, employers etc., – may use the fact that you’ve been accused of embezzlement to saddle you with ALL losses from the business, even losses that you are not responsible for. This is called “cleaning the books.” And it’s a strategy they might use to try to get back more than is truly owed.

If an employer approaches you about claims of embezzlement, you should certainly contact a Raleigh embezzlement lawyer or embezzlement lawyer Raleigh as soon as possible. This is because anything you may say to the employer could be later used against you.

And, because, if we act quickly enough, there may be ways to avoid a criminal charge entirely.

This may be because 40 years of a drug war has done a great deal to weaken protections for criminal defendants – who should be presumed innocent – and led to the incarceration of millions of human beings for drug use, drug sales, and drug traffickingDrug trafficking is the possession, sale, or distribution of larger quantities of certain controlled substances. In North Carolina, all drug trafficking laws have mandatory minimum sentences..

Here are some heart-breaking charts that make this point.

One of the ways I do this is to enter into a negotiation with the employer to find out why they think you may be responsible for the embezzlement. If the employer is simply fishing and has no real reason to blame you, then I certainly would recommend you enter into an agreement with them that results in your paying them for the loss.

But if your acts – either criminal or through negligence – have led to a loss for the company, then your best option may be to reimburse the employer for the loss, thus avoiding a criminal charge and convictionA conviction is a formal finding by a court - either following a trial by a judge or jury or following the entry of a pleaA plea agreementA plea agreement is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. - of guilt..

Why would you want to do this? First, a criminal charge, even if it never results in a convictionA conviction is a formal finding by a court - either following a trial by a judge or jury or following the entry of a pleaA plea agreementA plea agreement is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. - of guilt., can really destroy your life. It can place strain on your marriage, and make it very difficult for you to find new employment.

For that reason, it may be worth your while to reimburse the former employer, even if you weren’t criminally liable for the loss.

Second, a criminal charge may result in a trial, which will cost you many thousands of dollars in legal fees, and the potential of a convictionA conviction is a formal finding by a court - either following a trial by a judge or jury or following the entry of a pleaA plea agreementA plea agreement is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. is usually a negotiated agreement between the defendant (through his lawyer) and the prosecution where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, including, but not limited to, a reduced sentence or a reduction of charges. An Alford Plea is a guilty plea with all of the benefits and consequences of a guilty plea, but where the defendant does not admit personal guilt. - of guilt..

To save you both the time and the money of defending against a criminal charge, I can work with you and negotiate on your behalf with the former employer to make sure that you escape criminal liability.

In many cases, I’m able to negotiate an agreement that means that the former employer will never give you a bad reference or speak negatively about you. This can help you a great deal in finding future employment.

I can do all of this at a fraction of the cost it would be to hire me to defend the criminal case at trial.