My Civil Advocate

One of the special things about our country's criminal justice system is that if you are suspected or accused of committing a crime, you have certain fundamental rights. Unfortunately though, many people aren't aware of their rights, or, in the head of the moment, they forget about those rights. For instance, citizens who find themselves being questioned and in police custody may not even be aware that they have a basic fundamental right to have an attorney present any time they are being questioned by any branch of law enforcement. Truth is, having an attorney present if you are being quested is vitally important. Why is that? For one thing, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you from incriminating yourself, can make sure that you don't answer questions that are designed to trick you, and can keep officers from asking the same question over and over again. Bottom line - having a criminal defense attorney on your side can help make sure that you don...

Fact is, most people don't even know their rights if they're pulled over! Here's a quick list of the most important rights you need to know and how the conversation may go if you are pulled over: "Do you know why I pulled you over?" It's typically the first thing you'll hear. It's also deliberately designed to get you to admit to certain behavior. Be polite and simply ask, "Why do you ask?" and then wait for a response. Do not comment. That phrase "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law" is truer than you'll ever know, trust us. "Have you had anything to drink tonight? " If you truthfully have had nothing to drink that night, say, "No." If you've had something to drink, you don't have to share that information! Telling the officer that you've been drinking will be evidence used against you. Instead, say, "I have no statement to make." While it may seem u...

If you are arrested for suspicion of DUI/DWI, you are obligated to undergo a chemical test of your breath, blood, or urine at a police station or local hospital. If you refuse, you will incur stiff penalties, including suspension of your driver's license and a longer sentence if convicted. Chemical tests are generally reliable but not infallible. For example, police station breathalyzers may be thrown off by alcohol-containing substances in the mouth, such as breath fresheners and mouthwashes. Low-carb diets produce acetone on the breath, which may be identified as alcohol. Even a burp before blowing into the machine may cause a false-high reading. Urine test are the least reliable of the three chemical tests. It takes longer for alcohol to be metabolized by the body and appear in a person's urine, generally 60-90 minutes. Because of this, a person may be required to give two urine samples - first sample given; bladder voided; wait 20 minutes; give a second sample. This pur...

If a person is charged with possession of illegal drugs, their attorney may seek to challenge the prosecution on one or more grounds: refuting the stated facts, testimony, or evidence; zeroing in on procedural missteps; or pressuring the prosecution to provide all necessary evidence at trial. A defendant has the right to due process of law, including search-and-seizure protocol that is carried out properly. For example, if drugs were spotted "in plain view" in their car, they can be used as evidence. If a trunk was pried open without the defendant's consent, that's another matter altogether. A defendant can also claim they hadn't the foggiest idea that the drugs were in their residence or vehicle, and that the drugs must be someone else's. A skilled defense attorney can put the squeeze on the prosecution to prove "ownership". An attorney will force prosecutors to produce, in court, the actual drugs involved in the case. This isn't always a ...

In most states, juvenile delinquency proceedings involve persons age 18 or under. A few states might go lower, at 16 or 17, and one state (Wyoming) sets the age at 19. All juvenile cases are civil matters, not criminal. In juvenile delinquency cases, instead of being charged with a crime, the juvenile is accused of committing a delinquent act. A prosecutor or probation officer typically gets the ball rolling by filing a civil petition, which states the charge and requests that the court determines that the juvenile has been delinquent. Juveniles have the right to attorney representation at an adjudicatory hearing (where the judge weighs the evidence in a case), but they do not have the right to a trial by jury. If a delinquency determination is made, the court has broad powers as a to what constitutes the best interests of the child and a suitable course of action. Common delinquent acts include theft, drug abuse, simple assault, and disorderly conduct, among others. Roughly ...

If you are ever arrested for a DUI, the last thing you may be thinking about is whether the police officer who arrested you was unlawful in making the arrest. If the officer was unlawful, though, it may be enough to get your charges dismissed. Unless you commit a traffic violation, such as speeding or running a red light, a police officer can only pull you over if he or she has reasonable cause to believe you are driving under the influence. Reasonable cause is a very broad term, but some of the things that police officers look for can include: Swerving Weaving in between lanes Endangering other vehicles Following other vehicles too closely Driving well under the speed limit Erratic braking By exhibiting any of these actions, you can give a police officer reasonable cause to assume you're driving under the influence. If you are pulled over or are stopped at a sobriety checkpoint stop, remember that a police officer cannot search your vehicle without your consent. ...

Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to alleviate pain. Some can be legally prescribed by medical doctors; others are illegal, such as heroin. Since the year 2000, the number of heroin users in the United States has nearly tripled, to over 1 million. Deaths attributed to heroin have increased five-fold. All social and economic statuses are affected by this highly addictive and deadly drug, and it has springboarded from once-narrow belt across the Northeast to Midwest to infiltrate every area of the country. In its wake lies shattered families, child abuse and neglect, the heartbreak of infants born into addiction, and the spread of affiliated diseases (e.g., hepatitis and HIV). In the late 1990s, many pharmaceutical companies promoted a wider use of opioids, such as OxyContin, claiming the risk of addiction was extremely low- which wasn't true. Doctors overprescribed opioids on a grand scale for well over a decade. Many patients became hooked. In recent years, the...