If you ask a criminal defense lawyer what the most important cases are, she’s liable to include Brady v. Maryland if only because every time she files a discovery request on the government it includes a reference to Brady’s requirement that the government turn over any exculpatory information in its files to the defense. We’re…
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Tag Archive: raleigh criminal lawyer
The Limits of Miranda – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Interrogation
Slate magazine’s Emily Bazelon has a good article on Miranda in the context of the recent capture of a suspect in the Boston marathon bombing. But it’s easy to overstate both the importance of Miranda either to the defendant or to the government in any particular case, including a high profile case in which there…
Is there anyone not charged with murder?
In a bizarre twist, it turns out that South African paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius’s brother has now been charged with culpable homicide. Since Pistorius was charged in the death of his girlfriend, we’ve learned that the lead investigator Hilton Botha has been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, and now his brother has been…
Legal Doctrine and Legal Realties – The Daily Life of Criminal Law
Most people are woefully ill-informed about the way that criminal law is actually practiced. That includes law professors, including most of the ones who actually teach criminal law. I recall taking a Criminal Procedure class – “Bail to Jail” – when I was a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. UNC is…
The Logic of the Innocent Client
Everyone deserves a vigorous defense. In many cases, a person has committed some kind of crime, has been arrested, and has, usually, made admissions or confessions. In such cases, the criminal lawyer’s job is to limit the damage, assess the evidence, and, along with the client, build a defense. Sometimes limiting the damage means making…
Expanding and Reforming North Carolina’s Grand Jury System
A criminal case in North Carolina normally starts in District Court where, after a period of time and one or more “probable cause” dates at which a probable cause hearing is almost never held (at least in Wake County), the case is sent to a grand jury. In the meantime, the North Carolina grand jury…
I was placed on deferral (deferred prosecution). Can I end the period early if I complete everything?
My son is on a deferral program where he must complete 75 hours of community service and a 15 hours of drug classes. If everything is completed early, can the program be ended early? In some counties if someone is placed on deferral, it’s done through probation. The short answer is that one of the…
Should I go to UNC Law school?
I’m a graduate of the University of North Carolina Law School at Chapel Hill. As I have written elsewhere, few are applying to law school and that’s a good thing. I’ve also written about my experiences in attending law school, graduating, and establishing a law practice. I was profiled by MSNBC in 2011. Required Reading…
Should I hire a lawyer or get a court appointed lawyer?
Hiring a lawyer is a difficult decision. Many people are intimidated or nervous when first talking to a lawyer. If you call us, you will talk to a legal assistant who will answer basic questions and, if you wish, schedule an appointment, or you will talk directly with a Raleigh criminal lawyer. We offer free…
Can I go to jail for a misdemeanor in North Carolina?
We’ve handled hundreds of misdemeanors and the most common question is, can I go to jail for a misdemeanor? The answer is, as with everything in the law, it depends. First, what is a misdemeanor? A misdemeanor in North Carolina is a low level crime. It is still serious in that a misdemeanor conviction is…
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