South Carolina Criminal Attorney Blog

On June 12, 2009, a woman went missing and her remains were later found on Wadmalaw Island in October. The woman, Katherine Waring is now considered a victim. Eventually, three individuals were arrested for allegedly hindering the efforts of law enforcement officers who were investigating the case. A lot of details are not known since the judge in case issued a gag order prohibiting the solicitors, defense attorneys and police from discussing the case. Everyone that is involved in the case is subject to the gag order, and that even includes the victim's family and witnesses.

Following these individuals' arrest their attorneys requested a Preliminary Hearing, which is a right of those accused of a felony in South Carolina. That hearing was then waived by the same lawyers. Due to the gag order it is unknown why the hearing was waived.

A Preliminary Hearing is also called a Probable Cause Hearing. Notice of a defendant's preliminary hearing right is given to him/her at the bond hearing. There is potential unfairness in this as often the defendant is not able to raise the money to post bond and therefore does not immediately get out of jail. Since the defendant only has ten days to request the hearing, a lot of people end up staying in jail past the ten days. Once the hearing is requested, the defendant or defendant's attorney is free to waive the hearing at any time and is not required to go forward with it. The rules of criminal court require that the hearing is to be held within ten days following the request, although that seldom happens.

The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to determine if there was probable cause for the arrest and the hearing is presided over by a Magistrate Court judge. If the defendant is indicted prior to the hearing, then it is not to be held.

If probable cause is found by the judge, then the case is to be bound over to the court of General Sessions. If the judge determines that there was no probable cause for the arrest, then it is to be discharged by the court. The State however can still bring the case back at a later time by indictment.

The reason for the attorneys in the above case waiving the hearing is anyone's guess. Since a lot of what criminal defense attorneys do is purely strategically, it is possible that they were concerned that having the hearing could reveal something that they intended to do at trial, but would rather keep to themselves at this stage of the criminal process.

There are other reasons for waiving a hearing. One reason is, since the hearing is limited to only the issue of probable cause, if the attorney sees that it is impossible for the case to be dismissed for lack of probable cause, then it may be felt that it is a waste of time. A lot of lawyers will only attend a preliminary hearing if they think they stand a chance of getting it dismissed or if they feel there is a likelihood of the case going to trial. If they believe it may go to trial, then a preliminary hearing is an opportunity to see what the arresting officer's testimony might be like and therefore have some insight into the trial. One other thing that could happen is the case could be remanded down to a lower court on a lessor charge. We had that happen on a CDV charge. There was not enough evidence to support a Criminal Domestic Violence High & Aggravated charge, but the judge felt that there was enough to support a CDV misdemeanor charge.

Criminal Domestic Violence is one of those charges that is divided into a felony CDV and a misdemeanor CDV. That is not uncommon with criminal cases. Assault and Battery has three separate charges, with one being a felony and two being a misdemeanors. The felony is called Assault & Battery with Intent to Kill and is South Carolina's version of Attempted Murder, and is called ABHAN for short. One of the misdemeanors is referred to as Simple Assault & Battery. The other misdemeanor Assault & Battery case is really strange. It is called Assault & Battery High & Aggravated, and is called ABHAN for short. The thing that is so strange about this charge is that it carries up to 10 years in jail. That is nearly unheard of, to have a misdemeanor that carries that amount of jail time. By and large misdemeanors are considered to be crimes that carry one up to one year or less. Basically, in the remanded case the judge felt that evidence of the "aggravated" evidence was too weak to support the felony and therefore remanded the case down to one of the county Magistrate courts in Myrtle Beach and the case proceeded as a misdemeanor.

The best thing that a defendant can do when he/she has received notice of the right to a preliminary hearing, is to go ahead and fill out the request form and send it in. That way they are protected and once they retain an attorney if they decide that they would like to go forward with it then they are free to do so. And of course, it can always be waived like it was in the above case.

How much will the lawyer charge?
One of the first things people will want to know is, "how much will the attorney charge?" That is a fair and prudent question to ask. In answering it, please understand that every closing will have some costs in addition to the attorney. They bank will charge, the court charges to record the documents, there could be insurance, and a few other things. For the most part, these costs are pretty much the same from law firm to law firm. Of course whatever the bank charges will be specific to that particular borrower. But just about everything else will be the same regardless of who the lawyer is you chose. There are a lot of attorneys in the Myrtle Beach area, so you won't have any problem finding one, regardless of where your property is, and regardless of whether its in Georgetown or Horry County.

The only cost that really varies from firm to firm is the actual Attorney Fees. With the market and economy struggling to get back on its feet, we have lowered our fees to $350 for buyers and $175 for sellers. That is the lowest that we have seen for Horry County.

Service
The second concern that people should have, is service. We pride ourselves in returning calls the same day, keeping out clients informed of the process, accommodating when they would like to close, keeping other incidental costs as low as possible, providing the Settlement Statement in advance of closing, advising clients on the contract and other documents at no charge and completing the closing in a timely fashion and with a quick turn around time from when we first receive the contract.

Experience
Closely related and just as important is experience. We have been doing full-time real estate closings for years here in the Myrtle Beach have worked with countless Realtors, real estate companies, banks, abstractors, surveyors, inspectors, insurance companies, court personnel, throughout Horry and Georgetown Counties. I have been doing residential closings now for 15 years and have performed every major function.

Keeping you informed
We do not believe in a need to know basis. We service your real estate closing needs on a you will know basis and pride ourselves in keeping our clients informed on every step of the process. You will never have to guess or wonder where your closing is in the process.

Duel Representation
One question we get is people want to know if the buyer and seller have to have separate attorneys. The answer is no. The buyer and seller are free to engage the same attorney. There is several advantages to that. First, it makes for a more efficient and smoother closing when all of the information collected for the transaction is in one office and comes into one office. We never have to wait on other attorney and paralegals to return our calls, fax things when they promise and we never have to rely on the information they provide. We calculate and obtain all of the necessary information ourselves and that way we know its complete and its accurate. Although we cannot and do not ever take a "side" when we represent both parties, and we always remain neutral, we are at an advantage in many ways when problems arise as we do represent both parties. And again, having all of the important information in one office is definitely an asset.

Location
We are conveniently located in Surfside Beach, which is part of Myrtle Beach on the south end. Surfside Beach is unique because it us makes us accessible to not only all of Myrtle Beach, but close to Socastee, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield and Pawleys Island. We're also right in between the court in Conway where we record the documents for Horry County and Georgetown where we record for Georgetown County.

Our Goal
Our goal is to make this the easiest, smoothest and a down-right enjoyable experience for you, and it should be. A real estate transaction should not be a headache. And if it ever becomes one, then its our headache, not yours. Purchasing a home should be a fun experience. It should be something that you look forward to and actually enjoy. It is our aim to see to it that this is a great time in your life and it will be.

If you'll call us.....
The first step in the process is to call us. I'm sure you will have questions and we are only too happy to answer them. Call us and we can not only answer your questions, but we can send you a Rate Sheet which has pricing information for other professionals in the business and court related costs. We will advise you on your contract and any particular concern you may have to your closing. We look forward to hearing from you.

I am personally also more than happy to answer any questions you may have through my personal email address which is LawyerSC@aol.com

(843) 828-1137 Office
888-789-8100 Toll Free

Robert Johnston

After the last entry I did with some statistics about drunk drivers here in SC, I looked up a few crime statistics. Its amazing how high the numbers are for South Carolina. Not all of these are directly attributable to our residents. With over 14 million visitors a year in this state, obviously many crimes are from some of the tourists.
Here's a few numbers that have been reported by a service called, City Rating dot Com. Since I had a bit of a problem believing all of these statistics, I looked at the US Census Bureau and they pretty much agreed. It said that SC has 2.11 times the national average for murder, 7 times for rape, 3.6 times for robbery, 4.11 times for violent crimes, 3.6 times for burglary and 3.47 times as many for car theft. I have no idea who reliable either source is, but found it interesting that they were so close to each other.
I do know that tourists that visit the Myrtle Beach area commit their share of crimes. Horry County has received some bad press over the years for the tremendous high crime numbers, but obviously if you have over 14 million people coming to an area in one year, that is going to greatly affect the crime statistics and so clearly a great deal of crimes are not committed by its residents. I didn't come across any statistics comparing counties within the state, but on a whole I read that the entire state had 767 crimes per 100,000 in 2006 and the only place with numbers worse was the District of Columbia.

A group of people gathered at the Justice Academy where South Carolina future police officers are trained, and drank vodka. It was all part of an exercise to help the students learng to administer field sobriety tests and figure out if someone is drunk or not.

The subjects of the drinking experiment were made up of news reporters, a law enforement officer and some of thier friends. One lady participant, who was of average size and middle aged, registered a .039 after just one vodka drink and on an empty stomach. She then registered a .053 after her second and then a .063 after her fourth.

It was explained by the instructor that eating makes a gigantic difference. They also explained a few of the common myths surrounding attempts to sober up that just don't work. For example, drinking coffee, large amounts of water and taking a cold shower, just do not work. A drunk's only friend when trying to sober up is, time. And obviously, the more you have drank, the more time you will need.

After her fourth drink, she registered a .096. Other participants had much different results. One person who weighed 217 pounds, was a mere .074 with five drinks, while another one who weighed 175 pounds reached .110 after the same amount of drinks. And yet a very small woman gave a reading of .089 after just two drinks. The point is, what people register can greatly vary from person to person.

Another thing that was explained was some DUI statistics as SC is compared with the national average. In SC, 51 percent of car accidents in our state are alcohol related, while the national average is 40 percent.
And, South Carolina ranks number two in the country with alcohol related deaths. Just as staggering was that SC had 300 people murdered last year. However, there were 900 people who lost their lives to drunk drivers.

The man who shot and killed 12 year old Trick or Treater on Hallowe'en in October 2008 was convicted yesterday and received a sentence of 16 years. Not surprisingly, the boy's father was quite understandably not satisfied with the sentence. The father, who drove the boy to the shooter's house that night stated that he wanted to see him get a life sentence.

Quentin Patrick plead guilty yesterday was given the sentence per the manslaughter federal sentencing guidelines. He still has murder and assault charges in state court.

The boy and his family were on their way home on that Hallowe'en night when they noticed that Patrick's porch light was on. The boy was wearing a ghoulish mask as his brother were as they ran up onto the porch. Patrick's girlfriend saw them through a window and told Patrick that there were three large men wearing masks on the porch. And they had a rope. Patrick grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle which he had modified to continue firing with only a single pull of the trigger, and he emptied every bullet in the rifle, a total of 30, according to document at the courthouse. The police found a large amount of cash in his house that night along with about four ounces of cocaine.

A life sentence is still possible when he goes to state court.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DISCLOSURES. Here's tip for you if you are thinking of buying or selling a home and your not using a real estate agent. Section 27-50-30 or the South Carolina Code requires that for certain real estate transactions, the seller is required to provide the buyer with a disclosure form. It only applies to residences and not to commercial properties at all. There are some residences that are exempt from the disclosure requirement, such as the "first" sale of a house that has never been lived in. All in all there are 15 exclusions from this requirement.

Although people find it an inconvenience to have to do the disclosure, it actually service a purpose and benefits both the buyer and the seller. For the buyer, obviously it tells him/her anything that might be wrong with the property. For the seller, it proves that the seller was honest and let the buyer know about things that may not be in good condition. With respect to proof, a lot of people will have the buyer give the seller a receipt showing that they received it. Another thing people do is for both parties to sign it and each get a copy.

The form is mostly questions with boxes that they check off stating whether there is a problem or not. It deals with electrical, plumbing, the roof and so on. And, it only applies to problems that the seller is aware of and does not apply to things that may have been in poor shape years ago and are now in good order.

If anyone wants one of these forms, we keep them at the office and are happy giving them out for no charge.

Since I seem to be on a roll with traffic violations and DUI's lately, I thought I'd do a few more and shed some advise on what to do and what not to do when pulled over.

First of all, the road is the police officer's forum. You will not win an argument no matter how right you are and no matter how well you present your side of the story. All you are going to do is make the officer mad. Especially if he starts to see that he is wrong. He/she will not admit it. The best thing you can do is be nice and polite, no matter how hard that might be. There will be another day and when that day comes, it will not be solely the officer's forum. It will be a court of law and you'll have an even playing field.

Another thing to be aware of almost all, if not all, South Carolina patrol cars have video camera and microphones. The microphones are wireless and the officer has the mic on him, even though you cannot see it. The officers will turn that equipment on each time they pull someone over. So remember that anything that you say is probably being taped and recorded.

When you are pulled over the officer has the right to tell you to get out of the car, and that goes for your passengers as well. He/she also has the right to "pat" you and your passengers down. That is in the law for officer safety.

If you get a speeding ticket, you do not have the right to see the radar and it's a waste of time to even ask, so don't bother.

Do not assume that just because you may be 100% guilty of the traffic violation that there is nothing that can be done. There is a lot of give an take in the traffic courts and many of those violations can be reduced. And that includes the fine amount and the points. You owe it to yourself to contact and attorney and see what can be done. Traffic tickets are routinely reduced and its been that way for years. If you have two or more, then often they will be willing to dismiss one or more, depending on how many you might have.

The courts in this particular area, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Georgetown, Murrells Inlet, Garden City, and the surrounding counties I have practiced in for years. By and large the police, judges, solicitors (prosecutors), are very accommodating with working with attorneys in negotiating traffic tickets. Its just a phone call to see if something can be done and its certainly worth the few minutes it takes to find out.

As for out-of-state pulled over here in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere in SC, if you have not read what I posted on December 14th, then you really should. Scroll down to see it. There is some invaluable information for out-of-state drivers and the whole process can be entirely different.

Pay very, very close attention to the court date on your ticket. In fact, read the whole ticket. You cannot get out of a ticket because a word is mis-spelled, or the wrong word was used, like you see on TV. But it's a good idea to read the ticket and if there is anything incorrect on it be sure to point it out to the attorney you talk with.

The court date is of extreme importance. If you miss the court date, usually what happens is the officer that gave you the ticket will have been there. They then have a Bench Trial in your absence, which they are allowed to do. The officer will explain what happened and that will be the only information the judge will have to decide the case and you will lose. It is possible for an attorney to file a motion to reopen the ticket if you miss court, but you will need an extremely compelling reason for missing it and even then, there is no guarantee the judge will grant the motion.

Speaking of television, erase everything you have ever heard or seen on TV. Its seldom correct. I've seen people go into court without an attorney and look silly arguing with the judge that the city police officer did not have jurisdiction to write a traffic ticket because they were pulled over outside the city limits. They did not realize that a city officer has jurisdiction in the entire state of South Carolina to write tickets and make arrests up to three miles past the limits. A lot of other misunderstandings can occur which just result in unnecessary headaches. Call a lawyer.

You may see where the officer wrote a dollar amount on the ticket. He/she may have written bond next to it. That is simply a recommended fine amount and is not anything official.

Should you decide to go to court without being represented by an attorney and are offered a Bench Trial, be careful. A Bench Trial is a trial with no jury and the judge decides if you are guilty or not-guilty. Although people have won Bench Trials without an attorney, it does not happen often. Be aware that the officer is experienced with this, he/she knows how to talk in court, present the case, explain the allegations, and its extremely easy to get nervous and not be successful. There are certain rules of evidence that restrict what you can say and cannot say, what questions you are allow to ask and questions you are not allowed to ask, and so on. It is not advisable to do this on your own, but you have the right to. Once you have the Bench Trial and the judge rules, that's it. There's no turning back and there is no negotiating. That was your day in court and what ever the judge decides is the courts' ruling. You will be stuck with that decision, unless you appeal, and appealing is a gigantic headache. You cannot appeal simply because you did not like the judge's decision. You can only appeal if there was some sort of a judicial error or mistake of law.

All traffic violations are handled by magistrate courts and city courts, also called municipal courts. Unless you are an attorney, a courtroom can be a very intimidating place to be. If you should decide to go it alone and once your in court you find yourself nervous, unsure of what is going on, or for any other reason regret having made that decision, then you have an absolute right to request a jury trial and they will have to let you go and the jury trial will be scheduled on another date. Requesting a jury trial does not necessarily mean that you will have one. What it does is it saves you from going forward with the bench trial, it preserves your right to have a jury trial if you should decide that you truly want one, and it give you time to consult with an attorney.

Phone calls and questions are always free. If you have received a ticket your are more than welcome to call.

Its that time of year again, the holidays. Although you might drive up on a checkpoint anytime of the year, at least with the holidays you know they will out there, somewhere. This past weekend the police set one up for nearly three hours with 17 officers running it. The checkpoint resulted in 18 people being arrested and 65 citations given out. Of the 775 vehicles that were checked 15 ended up being towed.
People not carrying their proof of insurance took first prize which resulted in a total of 18 tickets for that alone. Of the people that were arrested, a number of them were for drug possession, including Schedule IV, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and seven charges for Simple Possession of Marijuana. And there was just one Driving Under the Influence. With it being a Friday night its somewhat unusual that there was only one DUI.
The most common violations were of the least serious. In addition to the no proof of insurance there were 17 tickets for various violations regarding licenses and 13 with regards to registration and eight regarding equipment.
You can rest assured the police will be setting more checkpoints as we get closer to the holidays which are usually held at night and are done by setting up roadblocks.

In a national trend that is surprising a lot of people, the gun laws in this country have been significantly loosened up. And by all counts, it looks like that trend may be continuing.

These changes have been largely attributed to in part to the National Rifle Association, the NRA as its commonly called, which has been busy in Washington making huge efforts to hammer away at the existing gun restrictions.

Tennessee has been leading the way on a lot of the changes where it has recently become easier to carry a gun, as it has in many other parts of the country.

Elsewhere in the country new laws have now allowed guns to be carried in autos, restricted whether an employer can inquire of a job applicant if they are a gun owner, and have expanded certain agreements between states where people can travel from one state to another with a gun and a permit.

In a study by The Associated Press over the past two years, 24 states of which are mostly in the West and the South, have had new laws passed totaling 47 new laws.

Of the new changes in the laws, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida and Utah have made it illegal to ban employees from keeping guns in their cars while on company parking lots.

In Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas and here in South Carolina, have made some, and in some instances all, information about handgun permits totally confidential.

In Arizona, Kansas and Montana, they have passed laws where now handgun permits may be issued to those who have expunged their felony convictions or they have restored their civil rights.

Not all states have loosened their gun laws. A few have actually tightened restrictions, such as New Jersey where people can now purchase only one handgun per month. Possession of a handgun on public transit is now illegal in Maryland and in Maine colleges and universities now have been given power to regulate their campuses with regards to possessing handguns.

Of one of the more eye opening laws that were passed, was in Tennessee where handguns can be taken in restaurants and bars that serve alcohol. A similar law was passed in Arizona.

All in all however, in 2009 three times the number of laws loosening gun restrictions were passed, than where gun laws tightening restrictions were passed. Many of those close to the legislatures in many states feel the trend will continue for some time.

I suppose the shear nature of a criminal law blog would have to from time to time report on things that were of the greatest degree of tragic and unthinkable. This article is no exception. As hard as it is to read, its reality and since there is obviously something wrong with our society that desperately needs fixing, I'm inclined to write about it, despite how hard it is.

In Missouri this week, a teenage girl, the ripe young age of 15, quietly sat by as her attorney informed the court of her not-guilty plea. A not-guilty plea to the charge of First Degree Murder. The murder charge stems from allegedly killing another child, a nine year old child. The prosecutors on case stated that her motive was merely that she had a desire to know what it felt like to kill someone.

The investigators stated that there were a couple holes dug prior to the killing. The holes were dug in the woods and they said it was to hide her body after the killing. The point of this information was to show the premeditation. They then said that the victim was strangled, her throat was cut and she was stabbed.

About a month ago, the court decided that she would be tried as an adult.

Personally, I can't think of anything I've seen or heard in life that baffles me more than things like this. I'm 54 and so I was well past my childhood when the Columbine massacre took place. Historically speaking, I'm not positive, but it seems that was the harbinger of these sort of things. Kids killing kids. Since then each occurrence is just as much of a mystery as the one before. When I was a kid, I can honestly say that not only did you never hear of such a thing, I do not think these sort of things were even thought of, let alone done. What on earth has happened to our society? The thing that makes this so, so horrific is that it is no longer is unbelievable. We now just read about it and although we are so hurt and pained by its occurrence, we do no longer find it hard to believe.

I guess I could call it, "DUI Week on my blog." Since I seem to be devoting a lot of time this week to writing about DUI's, it seemed incomplete if I didn't do an article about another alcohol driving offense that is not quite the same as Driving Under the Influence. Here in South Carolina we have an extremely close charge called. Driving Under an Unlawful Alcohol Concentration. Its called DAC for short.

DAC has penalties very similar to that of a DUAC. Of the cases I see here in Myrtle Beach and Conway, only a small percentage of them are DUAC and the vast majority are DUOS cases.

The elements for proving a DUAC are less then that of a DUAC. Basically the prosecution has to show that the person was driving, a motor vehicle, and the they registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. Heavy fines, jail time, high risk insurance, and so forth are just as likely with these as with the normal DUOS.

The Code of Laws for SC states certain requirements for a conviction on DAC. First, the breath test must have been administered within two hours of the driver being arrested. There must be what is called, "articulable cause" for the police stopping the driver. That word has its own legal definition. The defendant's arrest must have been lawful. That sounds silly, but that is what it says. The written testing procedures must be provided to the defendant. He/she must consent to the breath test. That means that they cannot force a person to take the test. As said earlier the results must be 0.08 or more. The administrator of the testing has to be qualified pursuant to certain qualification requirements as set forth in the Code of Laws. The same testing procedures for the typical Driving Under the Influence charge must still be followed. And lastly, the Code states that the machine was working properly.

Quite a bit of what the code dictates for a DUAC is the same as for a DUI. And I have to admit, some of these things really do sound ridiculous to be in the law. Since the code is so specific about these requirements, they are things that the defense attorney should always consider when representing someone charged with this.

A lot of the other aspects of a DUAC and a DUI are the same. Such as the right to have a blood test taken and the obligation of the police to give some assistance in that happening. The assistance doesn't in reality amount to much more than providing transportation to the nearest medical facility. If the police to not lend the assistance as required, then that would amount to the breath test results being inadmissible at trial.

There are other aspects of a DUAC and a DUI that are the same.

Personal Injury - Negligence Introduction

With having a new Blog and basically practicing three areas of the law, I have spent the majority of my writing time concentrating on Criminal Defense. Now that the Blog is up and running and I'm starting to get comfortable with this, I'm going to begin writing on the other two areas that the firm practices, which are Personal Injury and Real Estate Closings.

Negligence - Three components of Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

Personal Injury falls into that specific legal arena of Negligence. The basic definition of negligence is when a person fails to exercise the necessary degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise. Its also referred to as the Standard of Care. In simple terms, it means that we all have a responsibility in society to protect each other. That is, we are not allowed to be careless to the extent that a particular careless act could hurt another person.

Negligence, Personal Injury & Wrongful Death with car accidents

Probably the most common form of negligence that results in a Personal Injury, would be car accidents. That is for two reasons. One, there are literally millions of autos on the road in this country and any given moment. Secondly, a car is a huge piece of metal weighing thousands of pounds. Anytime something that big and heavy hits a person, whether that person is in another car or not, there is usually going to be harm.

From a legal standpoint, lawyers look at three things on each case in order to assess the merits of the particular case. This is important because one of the first things that client will ask, is "what is my case worth." The three major considerations of any Personal Injury are liability, damages and recoverability. Each aspect is as important as the other two. If one is totally non-existent, then the whole case fails. I'll explain these with respect automobile accidents, since those are probably the most common forms of Personal Injury cases.

Liability

Liability boils down to whether the other person is responsible for your injuries. When we ask this question we are simultaneously asking if liability can be proven. Whether or not there are any proof issues with liability can have a direct affect on the value of the case. Ultimately what we do when we seek to settle a Personal Injury case, is we are comparing the amount the we can settle for to what we reasonably predict that we can get if we go to trial. That is an extremely important evaluation for this reason. If for example it is 100% clear that the other driver ran the red light, then for liability purposes, the case has full settlement value. However, say there is a witness that says he had the red light and there is another witness who says he had the green light. Now you have a liability issue and it now becomes the lawyer's job to overcome it.

To overcome any such issue, we need to fully investigate the accident and collect the necessary evidence to show first the insurance company that the other driver is liable, and two if it become necessary to take the case to trial, then to show the jury that he/she is liable. We have in the past retained a Traffic Reconstructionist Expert to testify on the case that our client was not at fault and the other party was. Recently this was successfully done on a Wrongful Death case that I went to trial on in Conway, South Carolina. Other times we retain a private investigator to track down witnesses. We also use subpoenas and depositions to formally gather evidence from witnesses and third parties. All of these techniques and others is how we convince the insurance company to settle. And if they don't, then these are some of the tools we use to win the case in court. There is an old rule of thumb that if you want to settle a case then you prepare for trial.

Damages

The next one is damages. This is a legal term that covers a wide variety of things such as medical bills, lost wages, all kinds of out-of-pocket expenses, future lost earnings, scarring & disfigurement, loss of consortium, disability & impairment ratings, loss of earning potential, punitive damages, pain & suffering, plastic surgery, medical payment, future medial treatment, and the list goes on an on. Many of these are called Compensatory Damages. From a legal standpoint, the plaintiff's lawyer is allowed to seek a wide array of things that the individual has lost, or will lose. And then there is those damages that are not based on what the plaintiff has or will lose, such as punitive damages, which are designed to punish the at-fault driver for having committed for example what is legally phrased as "gross negligence."

The ability to recover monetary damages

The last aspect of the three is Recoverability. That is a term that is frequently uses, even though it does not pass spell check. So forgive me if there are any English majors reading this. That amounts to where the money is. The first source is the driver's insurance policy. If necessary we look to the other driver's personal assets. Usually however, there is insurance. State law requires that all vehicles on the road be insured. Then the law allows us to file claims on policies that are not related to the accident. This process is called "stacking." That is where for example we file a claim against the at-fault driver's policy and we exhaust it. However, that particular policy was not sufficient to cover the damages in the case so we are then allowed to purse an Under-insured Claim. There is also what is called, "Uninsured Claims as well. These are commonly referring to as UIM and UM claims. Believe it or not, that can involve policies of vehicles that have to relationship to the other driver or even to the accident. That becomes complicated and can involve a number of policies for a given accident. The law recognizes that not all policies will be enough on all cases and therefore allows lawyer to "stack" policies.

Our firm is located here in Myrtle Beach, SC, which is in Horry County. Myrtle Beach has a high number of auto accidents and Personal Injury due to the tremendous amount of traffic in this area. And sadly enough, that includes Wrongful Death, which is the term for when someone dies from another persons' negligence.

This is just a very basic overview. As this blog continues I will be elaborating on all of these in more detail.

Continue reading

Man arrest in for DUI driving a horse and buggy

This is a good example of how Driving Under the Influence arrests extend to just about anything other than a car. The DUI statute here in South Carolina, and I assume all states, makes specific reference to operating a "motor vehicle." But the courts over the years have expanded that to include just about anything that can be, "operated" and moves. In Conway, SC recently a person was arrested on a bicycle and in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a lady was arrested for operating a golf cart under the influence.

In the horse and buggy arrest, it was an Amish man that was arrested in Lancaster, PA this week. A breath test of the driver resulted in an alcohol content of .18, which is considered quite high. The Amish prefer horses and buggies as their main form of transportation and in that part of the country its not uncommon to see them on the roads.

When you stop to think of the legislative intent behind the DUI laws, that is to protect people and keep the roads safe, it only makes sense that judges have extended the "motor vehicle" requirements to include anything that travels. I recently posted an article that made reference to a man that had mounted a motor to a bar stool and was arrested on that. I suppose it would be very unlikely that such a vehicle would pose much of a danger to the public, but its certainly possible that the driver himself could be injured.

I've seen or heard of cases where Driving Under the Influence cases involved jet skis, lawn mowers and even airplanes. For the defense attorney on these type cases, their jobs are basically the same and the same types of defenses are used. And the prosecutor's job is pretty much the same as well.

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Myrtle Beach & South Carolina----Attorney reports on out-of-state traffic tickets

Out-of-state drivers beware. What the law is in your state may not be what the law is in another. At a glance, that may sound silly. But wait. It makes sense.

Since I'm an attorney in Myrtle Beach who defends people charged with traffic violations, I've seen how people have been hurt thinking that one particular ticket here in SC, will have the same results when it transfers back to their home state. That is not necessarily the case

Many states have what are called, Reciprocity Agreements. That means that they have agreed that they will exchange information when someone one receives a ticket in one state but they are a licensed driver in another. For example, if someone who is licensed in North Carolina gets a ticket here in South Carolina, it will transfer back to the DMV in NC. The problem is there is no adjustment for the point system and the points have different values in each state. A more specific example is this. Say a person gets a 4 point speeding ticket here in SC. They do not think its any big deal so they just send in the fine money to be done with it. Then SC transfers the conviction to the DMV in NC. The Department of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh will then suspend the person's driving privileges in NC for 30 days. That is because a 4 point violation is a much more serious offense than a 4 point violation in SC.

A lot of people from NC will call with a ticket and ask if I can get them Prayer for Judgement. No, I cannot. We do not have that here in South Carolina. I wish we did. It sounds like a nice program. When an out-of-state driver receives a traffic ticket in SC, it is imperative for them to talk with an attorney. With a lot of traffic violations the court will lower the charge and the fine simply by asking. Its been that way for years, especially with speeding tickets. But because of the difference in point values, our courts realize and understand that what might be a normal and common reduction for a particular ticket, might cause unreasonable harm once that ticket is transferred back to the driver's home state. Therefore, a little extra special reduction and consideration is often given to those out-of-state drivers.

Having practiced and defended traffic tickets in all of the magistrate courts and municipal courts in Horry and Georgetown Counties, the help that the judges give is uniform and they all make an effort. That is especially true with Myrtle Beach Municipal Court (also called Myrtle Beach City Court), Conway Central Traffic Court (also called Conway Central Jury Court), which handle more traffic cases than any other courts. Same goes with Central Traffic Court in Georgetown and the surrounding counties.

So people need to at least call an attorney to ask and never assume that one ticket will have the same results when it hits their home DMV

While reading some article on the Internet so I could write the last entry here on a DUI update, I kept running into certain DUI facts. I ran across enough of them to justify a separate posting. A few of these have a direct relationship with some of the evidence that is used in DUI trials, especially by the defense attorney.

**In 2007, there were approximately 1.4 million people arrested for Drunk Driving.

**A person's weight are a direct impact on how much alcohol it will take to affect them. Since the breath test determines "blood alcohol content," the more a person weighs the more then will need to consume to register a high reading.

**In Australia its called "drink driving."

**Not including attorney fees, a DUI conviction can cost a person well over $5,000 and possibly considerably more. Costs can include (but not necessarily limited to......fines, court costs, court assessments, towing, vehicle storage, alcohol education programs, reinstatement fees, interlock systems for the ignitions, high risk insurance, lost wages from time in jail & being in jail & going to court & not having a car & possibly for any suspension period.

**The "influence" part of a DUI can be more than just alcohol, but can be narcotics, intoxicants, prescription drugs, and any substance that can affect the central nervous system or the brain.

**Can you guess what has more alcohol? Is it a can of beer, or a five ounce glass of wine, or a shot of straight 80 proof liquor that is 1 1/2 ounces? If you answered they are the same, your right.

**Foods can slow the absorption rate of alcohol. Foods such as high-protein, rich and starchy foods slow it the most.

**Ever wonder why bars and clubs are so generous with the free peanuts and pretzels they set out for you when you? This is an easy one. salty foods make people thirsty.

**Certain factors increase the affects of alcohol.......such as emotions, health, some prescription and non-prescription drugs, food, and stress.

**Coffee, running, and taking a shower do not speed the process of sobering up. Only time does that.

**Nearly every state in the country, if not every state will share DUI convictions with each other when a person seeks to get a license in a new state.

**A DUI conviction will stay on a person's driving record in South Carolina for 10 years. In every state it not only will appear on a person's driving record, but will show on the criminal record as well. So when a South Carolina driving record may no longer show a DUI conviction after 10 years, the criminal record will always show it..............even 50 years later.

**All states have zero tolerance laws with regards to anyone under the age of 21 to drive with a BOA level of as little as .02.

Drunk Driving convictions, DUI's for short, are classified as criminal convictions in all 50 states. Its just another reason why it is imperative to have an experienced attorney represent one charged with a DUI. South Carolina is high on the national statistics for DUI arrests. And with Myrtle Beach being such a popular tourist destination and consuming alcohol ranking high on the list of tourist activities, there are bound to be a large number of Driving Under the Influence charges in not only Myrtle Beach, but throughout Horry County. And of course sadly enough, there will be a few Felony DUI charges, which is when a death or serious bodily injury occurs. These especially require a qualified attorney. These criminal charges are prosecuted as zealously as any crime there is. The solicitor knows that there will be publicity on all of these, which puts them in our court of General Sessions in Conway, SC. As it stands now, South Carolina is 6th on the list of DUI related highway fatalities.