South Carolina Criminal Attorney Blog

In a strange turn of events, a man who was convicted of Rape sued his accuser for Malicious Prosecution.

In 2002, Anthony Hunt was convicted of raping a woman in her home. She had admitted to having sex but asserted that it was forced. Hunt maintained it was consentual. At trial the jury believed her testimony and he was convicted and sentenced to prison.

After sitting in prison for four long years, the appellate court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial. This was the result of faulty jury instructions. In the second trial, the victim wasn't quite as convincing as she was the first time around and Hunt was aquitted.

Following his acquital, he sued the victim for Malicious Prosecution. In many if not most Malicious Prosecution cases, it's the criminal prosecutor that gets sued. However, as long as there is Probably Cause for the arrest, and the Prosecutor acts in good faith within the facts and circumstances known to him/her at the time, then the Prosecutor will be sheilded from liability.
Michael Nifong, the beleaguered and disbarred former Prosecutor who handled the Duke University Lacrosse rape case might be a good source of information on how this works.

Apparently at the civil trial, the jury wasn't convinced that the victim made it all up. One would have to remember that defendants in our judicial system are found "not guilty." All that means is that guilt has not been proven. They are never found "innocent". So maybe there was some lingering doubt as to his criminal behavior. In any event, the jury just didn't agree that the victim was being all that "malicious" and maybe she had been telling the truth.

I have heard more instances when a person has been pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving and they told the police office that they were on prescription medication. Apparently a lot of people don't know that the Driving Under the Influence law pertains to any substance that can affect a person's ability to drive. A lot of people believe that its only alcohol that constitutes the offense.

Telling the police this amounts to assisting them in collecting evidence and helping the solicitor prosecute. It's the same thing as a confession.

These are some of the most difficult situations to "remain silent." Its quite obvious that if they police come talk to you about an Armed Robbery that occurred, then you should remain silent. But it so hard to do that when you are pulled over. There is just a natural tendency to cooperate and answer the police officer's questions. And, there's always what appears to be that hope that they will let you go. But they seldom do. More times than not, when a person is pulled over for suspicion of a DUI, they are arrested for a DUI.

The public needs to be aware that there are a variety of substances that can impair their ability to safely drive.

For more on this and how a lawyer can help you, go to my website.

Absolutely.. In all honesty, its possible for the person who received the ticket to get some help without an attorney. But no attorney is going to recommend that a person go to court or deal with a court without representation. And that includes speeding tickets.

Speeding tickets are handled in either Magistrate Court or Municipal Court (city court). Myrtle Beach and Conway handle the bulk of these tickets in Horry County.

I have only seen two instances when a lawyer could not get help for a person that received a speeding ticket. One, was when the ticket was written up for as low of a speeding violation there is. And two, when the driver was less than nice on the side of the road when getting the ticket. In other words, he/she mouthed off to the officer. Other than those two situations, speeding tickets are routinely reduced. That includes the fine and the points.

Lawyers typically do not charge much for these. For an out-of-state driver that gets a speeding ticket, the small amount of money is well worth it when you consider the fine reduction, points reduction, losing a day's work to drive to a South Carolina court, gas prices, increased insurance costs, the mark on the driving record, and the inconvenience of it all.

For drivers from North Carolina, getting help on speeding tickets can make a huge difference. The way that the violation transfers back to NC, results in extremely harsh penalties at times, including the possibility of a license suspension in NC. Unfortunately, South Carolina does not have "Prayer for Judgment" like North Carolina does.

Speeding tickets are not the only traffic violation that can be reduced or changed. The other possibilities vary and depend on the particular ticket.

Never just assume that paying the ticket is your only option.

For more on this and how a lawyer can help you, go to my website.