Any felony or misdemeanor conviction could mean extended court supervision, high fines, and jail or prison time, even for defendants with no criminal record. Any criminal conviction has lasting consequences in terms of things like the ability to obtain student aid, the freedom to pursue certain careers, and even find a nice place to live. So, Raleigh criminal defense attorneys work very hard to avoid criminal convictions whenever possible.

Regardless of faith, most people give gifts during the holidays. In 2013, Americans spent roughly $3 trillion on holiday gifts. Unfortunately, many people cannot afford gifts for their friends and loved ones. Due to personal embarrassment and the high expectations of the season, some of them turn to shoplifting.

Especially for people who live in large urban areas like Raleigh-Durham, traffic tickets are a fact of life. Officers hand out lots of traffic tickets, largely because they are a revenue source. As a result, traffic ticket fines and costs are a lot higher than they used to be. Additionally, too many traffic tickets could mean more than lots of fines. It could mean drivers’ license suspension as well.

At Sandman, Finn & Fitzhugh, we work to obtain a “not guilty” verdict or get the case dismissed. However, in some situations, the nature of the evidence makes such results impossible to achieve. But, that doesn’t mean a positive result is out of reach.

In terms of the overall legal environment, North Carolina is probably one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation. Nevertheless, there are certain rules that residents must obey to avoid criminal charges. NC Gun Laws North Carolina is a limited permitless state. Open carry is allowed without a permit, if the person can legally […]

In a June 2019 decision that profoundly affects Raleigh criminal defense lawyers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers cannot use cell phone locators to track suspects without first obtaining search warrants. In Carpenter v. United States, a sharply divided Court ruled in favor of Michigan resident Timothy Carpenter. To link Carpenter to a string of Radio Shack and T-Mobile robberies in Ohio and Michigan, law enforcement officers looked at 127 days of cell phone tracking data which pinpointed Carpenter’s location at almost 13,000 points.

Drug possession is the most commonly-charged drug crime in North Carolina. Possession may be a misdemanor or a felony, largely depending on the amount and type of controlled substances involved. Moreover, aggressive prosecutors often use any shred of circumstantial evidence to enhance charges to distribution. The penalties are much higher in these cases.

As mentioned in our previous blog, as part of a nationwide relaxation of marijuana laws, North Carolina lawmakers recently reclassified PDP charges as Class 3 Misdemeanors, if the paraphernalia is used in conjunction with marijuana. This change represents a significant reduction from the old Class 1 Misdemeanor classification. Class 1 offenses have harsher punishments and fines.

For many years, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (PDP) has been a Class 1 Misdemeanor in North Carolina. Then, on December 1, 2014, the State Legislature reclassified PDP as a Class 3 Misdemeanor, if the paraphernalia was used in conjunction with marijuana. In all other situations, PDP is still a Class 1 Misdemeanor.