Criminal Law BLOG 843-822-9800
May 22nd, 2013 | by admin
A directed verdict is a home run for a defense attorney. It means the defendant doesn’t even have to put on a defense to the charges, because the judge agrees there is not enough credible evidence to convict the defendant. I have been fortunate enough to win a directed verdict in a trial, but for [...] - read more
May 15th, 2013 | by admin
In a recent case heard in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, an interesting concept has come up. It is the idea that if you are held in contempt by the court for a certain action, that double jeopardy attaches and you cannot be prosecuted for the same crimes that you were found in contempt [...] - read more
May 10th, 2013 | by admin
In an opinion filed this week in the South Carolina Supreme Court (Opinion No. 27250), we see the benefits and the pitfalls of a defendant pleading guilty in an “Alford” plea. For those who are not familiar with what that is, basically it is a plea bargain where the defendant’s position is that he wants [...] - read more
April 19th, 2013 | by admin
Those of us who handle DUI cases watched this case (Missouri v. McNeely) closely for the potential effects on how DUI cases are investigated. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in an opinion written by Justice Sotomayor, has ruled in this case on the need for a warrant when the officer wishes to [...] - read more
April 17th, 2013 | by admin
In a recent case in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, an interesting point of law came up that I thought I would share on vindictive prosecution. As a former prosecutor, I can’t count the number of times defendants accused me of this, and many actually believe it when they accuse a prosecutor of this, [...] - read more