Category: Criminal Defense
The October 2017 session of the United States Supreme Court began on Monday, October 2. The Supreme Court returns in full force with Neil Gorsuch taking the seat of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia’s seat remained empty for almost a year. This term is set to be one of the…
Have you been accused or convicted of a crime and wondered to yourself, “How can I get this off my record forever?” Well, some good news from the NC legislature. At the end of July, Governor Roy Cooper signed a new law that dramatically reduces the wait times before an…
There is no doubt that the opioid epidemic is on the rise in North Carolina. Opioid and heroin-related cases of overdose have nearly doubled in the past year. Emergency rooms in suburban neighborhoods continue to see an increase as young adults (most men) find themselves on the losing end in…
As an experienced criminal defense attorney, I know that the justice system is not flawless. Actually far from it. Police can (and often do) make serious mistakes during an investigation. Analysts and clerks may accidentally mishandle (or completely lose) valuable evidence. In addition, prosecuting attorneys and judges might unintentionally overlook important…
In July 2017, Amanda Katherine McLeod was indicted in Raleigh on a charge of second-degree murder. Three months earlier, she had sold the powerful and deadly drug, fentanyl, to a woman named Emily Renzo. On the same day, Renzo was found dead due to an overdose of fentanyl mixed with heroin. McLeod was…
Sexting, or sending sexually-explicit text messages, may seem exciting for many teenagers even though most are unaware of the potential consequences. Recently, the House of Representatives passed a new bill that adds major new stipulations to the current law on sex-related crimes. As far as the laws on child pornography…
A North Carolina man unwittingly exposed himself as a major grower of opium poppy plants when he confessed to law enforcement officials when they came knocking on his front door. According to the Washington Post, Catawba County resident Cody Xiong thought the investigator was coming for his heroin-producing plants-as much…
Raleigh criminal defense attorneys like myself have been following the news about the eventual use of body cameras for quite some time. This past week, the News and Observer wrote about Raleigh Police Department rolling out body-worn cameras. By the end of next year, 600 sworn officers will be equipped with the cameras. At…
When I hear about sex, drugs, and violence in prisons, I usually think of shows like HBO’s Oz or Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. While I hear real-life stories of violence in prisons from time to time, it did not seem rampant and it usually involved violence between prisoners….
When she was 10 years old, Charla Roberts pulled down the pants of an elementary school classmate. It was a childish prank – but it landed her on the state’s sex offender registry after being prosecuted for “indecency with a child.” Roberts’ name stayed on the list until her early…
