Mississippi Criminal and Family Law Blog

I Was Not Driving and Still Got a DUI?

Published on: October 7, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Alcohol consumption in Mississippi and the United States in general is a time-honored tradition. However, as with anything, overindulging in alcohol or being irresponsible when consuming alcohol can lead to both personal and legal problems. Far too often, when adult beverages are consumed, many people still decide it’s “ok” to drive home. Additionally, there are those who instead choose to “sleep it off” in their vehicle. Though not driving is definitely a better option, sleeping after drinking while behind the wheel, even on private property, can still result in a DUI arrest.

Why Can’t I “Just Sleep It Off?”

It is a common misconception across the county that if you are intoxicated, you can “sleep it off” in your vehicle and be safe from a Dui arrest. Anyone’s vehicle can be stopped, the transmission put in park, and the engine turned and can still be arrested for a dui. Nation-wide there are states that recognize this as the “Shelter Doctrine”; i.e., I suddenly feel that I can no longer drive and I have pulled off the road to seek shelter in my vehicle. However, in most states like in Mississippi, this “shelter doctrine” is not recognized as a defense to driving under the influence.

Mississippi’s Albright Factors for Child Custody: What is in the Child’s Best Interest?

Published on: October 5, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

During a divorce, courts are often deciding who will have custody of the couple’s children. When a judge decides child custody, they are simply looking to one thing: what would be in the best interest of the child? But determining what is in the child’s best interest can sometimes be tricky, which is why Mississippi courts use a set of factors to help make this decision.

The Albright Factors

Courts look to the best interest of the child to determine custody. Each state uses a list of factors to figure out what would be in the best interest of the child or children. Mississippi uses the following 13 factors (they are called the Albright factors because they come from a Mississippi case called Albright v. Albright):

“Rin Tin Tin” is Your Furry Friend, Think Twice Before Injuring a Police Animal

Published on: October 3, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Most people around the world treat and value animals with dignity and respect. This is especially true for pet owners or owners of service animals. Service animals in particular, hold a high regard in the community whether they are personal service animals to assist in daily life, or if they are police agency service animals. Most people are familiar with animals being used to help police and other agencies do their job. However, some are unaware that if you injure one of these police service animals, there are heavy consequences that may follow.

In August 2022, a 19-year-old police horse named Eton, was struck by a drunk driver for the second time in Wilmington, North Carolina. Eton, a 16-year police veteran, is known for boosting the departments work in public relations as well as crowd control. The horse only had minor injuries in both instances and thankfully the horse is ok and back on the job. However, the driver not only had the dui to worry about, but also a potential felony for injuring a police service animal.

https://www.newsweek.com/police-horse-hit-drunk-driver-second-time-16-year-career-north-carolina-1741194

Sex Crimes- Talking Yourself Right into Prison

Published on: September 30, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

In today’s time of victim empowerment where the police, prosecutors, and even juries are flipping the due process and fairness by presuming the credibility of the accuser in sex crimes cases. You will be presumed guilty simply by being charged with a sex crime. Your silence is more important than ever when charged or investigated with a sex crime. Never agree to speak with police or detectives before consulting with an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Even then, there is virtually no scenario where an offender should agree to speak with law enforcement about sex crimes accusations. Your reliable alibi or mistaken identity simply means nothing and you will not be believed.

Why Should an Offender Refuse to Talk to Law Enforcement in any Sex Case Investigation?

The reason criminal defense lawyers advise against speaking to police in sex crimes cases is because law enforcement officers seldom reach out to a suspect to rule him out. Instead, their motivation is to gather evidence to charge or convict suspects. This is because they do not care about the accused’s “side of the story” until they have interviewed the accuser (usually several times) and, in most instances, deemed his/her credible. More often than not, the result of speaking with the police is that the information given inadvertently supplies details that the police are seeking to use to help charge or convict the accused. The police or investigators are often looking for statements such as: “yes, I was with her but I didn’t do anything”; or “yes, we had sex, but it was consensual”; or “I can’t recall because we were both drinking”. While meant to profess innocence, such statements are more likely viewed as admissions to help build or provide evidence of the sex crime. At the same time, nerves, faulty memory, pressure, and intimidation can, and do, result in misstatements or inconsistencies which the police will use as evidence of untruthfulness. In short, the police are not your friends and are not looking to help you. They are instead motivated to make and prove their case, and let the jury decide.

Truth Without Consequences

Published on: September 26, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Folks will lie to get what they want if they think they can get away with it. It may seem completely unbelievable to the average person but there are people out there that have no hesitations about accusing others of molestation or rape. Although official numbers have never been accurately determined, there are estimates that accusations of a crime as serious as sexual molestation or rape are falsified or exaggerated by up to 40%. The question then becomes why would someone want to lie about being molested or sexually assaulted.

There are three main reasons why false molestation or rape accusations come about, such as:

Monetary gain: Based on the details of the case and the emotional and physical harm allegedly inflicted, a judge may order restitution be paid by the offender to the “victim.”

Pre-Divorce Planning

Published on: September 23, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

When a marriage is breaking down and it becomes obvious that divorce may be approaching, it can be emotional and overwhelming for everyone involved. However, there are several things that spouses can do to prepare for divorce if they know that they are likely headed in that direction. It is never a bad idea to prepare ahead of time so that the divorce process runs as smoothly as possible.

Basic Divorce Requirements

The first part of starting the divorce process is determining whether you meet the state residency requirement. To file for divorce in Mississippi, you must be a Mississippi resident for at least six months at the time of filing. Most people satisfy this condition easily, but if you have not lived in Mississippi for at least six months, you may need to wait until that six-month period has passed. Residency may be proved in many ways including but not limited to filing for a homestead exemption, registering to vote, purchasing an in-state drivers’ license, and so on.

Shoplifting Crimes are on the Rise in Mississippi

Published on: September 21, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Not all crimes are created equally, but they can all potentially result in serious consequences for an offender, including fines, probation, jail time, and a criminal record. Shoplifting is one of those crimes that people often view as a minor, non-violent criminal offense. Stealing a snack from a convenience store may not be thought of on the same level as robbery, but it can result in the offender having to deal with extreme consequences in the state of Mississippi.

Mississippi Shoplifting Laws

Before we get into the potential consequences of shoplifting, let’s define what it means.

How the Insanity Defense Works in Mississippi.

Published on: September 15, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

You may be familiar with the insanity defense for those charged with a serious crime like murder, rape, robbery and other crimes that carry the death penalty, but you may not understand how it works. A defendant may be found not guilty by reason of insanity for serious crimes. However, what the outcome of such a ruling is that the Defendant is not insane. An insanity defense does not claim that a defendant is innocent, but rather that they did commit the criminal act, but are not legally culpable (viable) for their conduct because of their poor mental health.

Mississippi’s rules of criminal procedure are very clear that a person’s competency to stand trial is completely separate from whether a person was sane at the time of an alleged defense. Both competency and sanity require that there be a mental evaluation of the defendant. But whereas a competency evaluation determines whether the client understands the nature and seriousness of the crime, a sanity evaluation goes much deeper. It is at the sanity evaluation stage that an inexperienced lawyer fails to consider.

The biggest problem with asserting insanity, and therefore having a sanity evaluation, is that to assert the defense, a defendant and his lawyer are effectively admitting that the person committed the crime, but that the defendant suffered from such a mental disorder that they could not understand the gravity of their actions or the consequences. Not only that, but when the person goes for their mental evaluation, they must reveal all of the details of the underlying crime, and that information must be turned over to the prosecution if the lawyer continues to assert insanity as his client’s defense.

What are the Two Types of Divorce in Mississippi?

Published on: September 13, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

There are two types of divorce in Mississippi: Irreconcilable Differences divorce (sometimes called “ID divorce”) and Contested or Fault-Based divorce. The type of divorce you choose depends on whether or not you and your spouse can agree to a divorce. If you and your spouse cannot agree to a divorce, one spouse must prove the other is guilty of marital fault such as adultery, untreated addiction, or domestic violence.

Irreconcilable Differences Divorce

Irreconcilable differences (ID) divorce is also sometimes called uncontested divorce. This type of divorce is used where both spouses agree that they want to get a divorce. If one spouse does not want a divorce and will not agree to the divorce, ID divorce cannot be used, and the spouse who does want the divorce will have to file for fault-based divorce. Sometimes, a couple will agree that they both want to get a divorce, but cannot agree on certain terms like child custody or how to divide the marital property. In this type of situation, the couple can still file for irreconcilable differences divorce as long as they agree that the court will determine any remaining terms of disagreement. 

Representing Yourself in Court Is Not a Do-It-Yourself Project

Published on: September 7, 2022 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

In the practice of law, defendants have the option of pro se (Latin for “on behalf of themselves”), Meaning they represent themselves in a civil or criminal case in court. Although this practice can save the offender the cost of hiring an attorney, the results are almost always disappointing and leave offenders wishing that they had retained a qualified attorney. Pro se defendants rarely win, and it’s not hard to see why. Oftentimes attorneys can turn to current court decisions to help them answer difficult questions regarding the law. Let’s see what the courts have to say about this issue of offenders deciding to represent themselves in court on criminal charges. The assistance of counsel is essential to putting your best foot forward on your day in court. United States v. Gonzalez -Lopez, 548 U.S. 140 (2006). The Court’s decision stated that representation by counsel is critical to the ability of the adversarial system to produce just results. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). The untrained defendant is in no position to defend himself, even when there are no complexities surrounding the defendant’s case. State v Sugar, 417 A.2D 474 (1980). Without the guiding hand of counsel, an innocent defendant may lose his or her freedom because he or she does not know how to establish his or her innocence.

As one can clearly see, our courts say that offenders should seek counsel when dealing with issues in court. Our attorneys at the Carmody law firm believe in the importance of the right to counsel and will work zealously to defend your rights in court.

What Are Some Advantages of Hiring a Qualified Criminal Defense Attorney?