Drug
Winston Salem Drug Crimes Settlement
Winston Salem Drug Crime Settlement
According to a local news article (November 2008), a former sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to 10 counts of embezzlement, two counts of attempting to traffic in opium and OxyContin and one count of obtaining property by false pretenses and common law forgery, in a Winston Salem drug crimes settlement. He pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement reached with the Yadkin County District Attorney’s office. The former deputy allegedly altered colonoscopy reports to state that he had cancer. Prior to the settlement, defense attorney, Winston Salem drug crime lawyer stated that the former deputy was eager to defend himself against the charges.
Post settlement, local North Carolina newspaper commented that “Charges included 10 counts of embezzlement, two counts of attempting to traffic in opium and oxycontin, one count of obtaining property by false pretenses and common law forgery. These were merged into four charges for sentencing and the eight counts of felony larceny by employee were dropped.”
What Is at Risk when you are charged with a Drug Crime in Winston Salem North Carolina
In North Carolina, drug possession, sale, and trafficking are serious offenses that can carry penalties of long-term imprisonment and hefty fines. For heroin trafficking, for example, sentencing can include a prison term up to 279 months and a $500,000 fine, depending on how many grams of the drug were involved. Convictions for drug trafficking in general dole out harsh punishment, especially if the incident occurred in the vicinity of a school. Sentencing could be worse still if this is not your first offense. If you are accused of trafficking crimes, you should contact a drug trafficking lawyer in Winston Salem immmediately.
In addition to imprisonment, drug offenses can carry other direct penalties including:
Loss of property rights Loss of driver’s license Fines Probation Mandatory drug treatment Mandatory educational program participationIndirect penalties can include damaging employment opportunities.
It is critical that you know the risks and work with a qualified attorney to develop your defense when charged with:
If you have been accused of a drug crime in Winston Salem, NC, you have no time to lose. Drug crimes, sex crimes and other criminal cases can move quickly through the judicial system and you may stand to lose important rights if you do not act right away.
About the Attorney
Winston Salem crimes attorney is a board certified specialist in state and federal criminal law by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization. He has earned the recognition of his peers in Martindale-Hubbell®’s Peer Review Ratings™, an honor given to a mere 14 percent of lawyers in America. He has been profiled by several publications including the Winston-Salem Journal, Qué Pasa, and The Advocate, and has appeared in WXII TV 12 video interviews as a legal expert. Winston Salem attorney focuses his practice on all types of criminal defense cases, including but not limited to sex crimes, drug crimes, and white collar crimes.
About the Attorney
Winston Salem crimes attorney is a board certified specialist in state and federal criminal law by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization. He has earned the recognition of his peers in Martindale-Hubbell
A Drug Crime Attorney’s Warning: Do Not Let Drug Treatment Land You In Prison
As Criminal Drug Law Attorneys throughout the nation understand, there is a constant battle within criminal and drug courts as to the role punishment and rehabilitation should play in determining fair criminal sentences for drug users. Unfortunately, with prison populations swelling disproportionately with inmates incarcerated for drug possession crimes, the view of many criminal defense lawyers is that the justice pendulum of our criminal drug laws has swung too far in the direction of punishment as opposed to rehabilitation.
Too many good people suffering drug addictions can unfortunately find themselves in legal jeopardy for seeking out treatment during the course of a criminal prosecution or in some unfortunate cases for making admissions to drug activities when seeking treatment. Common sense dictates that a judge and/or prosecutor will view a Defendant’s treatment during the course of a prosecution favorably and will issue a sentence accordingly. As criminal drug attorneys are aware, such pro active treatment is usually not only recommended but a critical part of securing a criminal drug law sentence that furthers a course of drug treatment on an inpatient or outpatient basis as opposed to the destructive force of imprisonment on such people’s lives.
Criminal drug defense attorneys know that prison should often be the last course of action for many drug users whose inability to deal with real life predicaments or untreated mental difficulties have caused them to resort to drugs or narcotics in the first place. However, as most criminal drug lawyers will tell you, too often, the self interest of a drug law prosecutor is not always looking out for the best interests of a drug user. As a result, before admissions are made on the part of a person seeking or presenting evidence of drug treatment during the course of a criminal drug crime prosecution, some important legal issues should be kept in mind:
If a person is a repeat drug offender, and is thinking of admitting to continued drug abuse, possession and/or delivery of drugs to further treatment or to show remorse during the course of a criminal prosecution it is imperative that a criminal drug defense attorney be consulted first. Unfortunately, admission of past drug crimes and/or activity during the course of drug rehab or within a court of law can sometimes be used not to treat the drug illness but to increase the range of penalties available to a criminal drug crime prosecutor.
For example, a prosecutor with an eye toward punishment can use evidence of prior drug convictions and/or usage as motivation to increase the range of penalties one is facing even after initial drug charges have been filed. This is so due to the proliferation of habitual drug offender laws imposed throughout the nation. Originally intended to incarcerate drug dealers to long term prison sentences, the misapplication of such laws have often been used to allow for prosecutors to seek higher potential criminal penalties against those with no more than multiple drug possession convictions against them.
A drug prosecutor often has broad discretion in what cases to seek habitual offender status that can possibly quadruple a criminal sentence to one of mandatory prison time. While most prosecutors are capable individuals with a proper sense of justice in mind, it is a criminal defense attorney’s role to prepare a criminal drug defendant as though a habitual drug enhancement is a real possibility. As such, one should always work hand in hand with a criminal defense lawyer as to how an individual’s course of drug treatment is undertaken and ultimately presented to a judge in order to insure that a person’s desire at rehabilitation not serve as a trap to incriminate oneself within a criminal court of law.
For a Top Indiana Criminal Defense Lawyer serving Indiana. Stark Law Offices, 201 N. Illinois, Indianapolis, IN (317) 273-8888,450 E. 96th St., Ste. 500 Indianapolis, IN (317) 818-6035, 23 S. 8th St. Noblesville, IN 46060 (317) 774-1700 Indiana Criminal Defense Lawyer.