Archive for the ‘Crimes’ Category

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What is a court appointed attorney?

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

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If you are charged with an offense that could possibly result in you being sent to jail, and you can’t afford an attorney, you have the right to have an attorney appointed to represent you.

In order to qualify for an appointed attorney, you need to meet some low income guidelines.  If you don’t meet these guidelines, the court determines that you can afford to hire an attorney on your own, and you are not eligible to have an attorney appointed to represent you.

In some courts in this area, there is a public defender’s office that handles most of these cases.  In other courts, there is no public defender and so the court needs to find other attorneys that will accept the appointments.  There might also be a situation where there is a conflict in the public defender’s office, so sometimes the court needs to find another attorney to accept this particular appointment even though most of the time the public defender’s office is used.

Who pays for these attorneys?  The Commonwealth of Virginia, which means the taxpayers of Virginia.

But the attorney does not get paid at their ‘normal’ retained rate.   Instead, the court appointed attorney gets paid a very reduced rate.

The court does not just go out on the street to find the first attorney walking by.  All of the court appointed attorneys need to meet training standards to be allowed on the list in the first place, and they then need to continue to get additional training in order to remain on the list.

Most of the court appointed attorneys also handle privately retained clients, and they agree to take court appointed cases as a way of helping the community.

What does this mean to you?  If you happen to have a court appointed attorney, you can rest comfortably in the knowledge that your attorney is well qualified.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

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Can my criminal record be expunged?

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

I’ve had a couple of phone calls in the past few weeks from people who want to have their criminal records expunged.  One of these was for a petty larceny conviction which started as a dare to shoplift.  The person took the advice of her friends and pled guilty, got a small fine, and thought she was off the hook.

Fast forward 8  years, and this same person now wants to rent an apartment.  Surprise! The apartment manager did a criminal background check and found the petty larceny charge.

I had another call from someone who had a brush with the police over 40 years ago, when he was a teenager, and that charge is now keeping him from getting a gun permit.

And just last week I had an inquiry from someone who was found guilty of grand larceny about 12 years ago and she can’t get a job today because of her criminal record.

Bad credit stays on your credit report for 7 years.  Even a financial judgment or bankruptcy falls off eventually.  In Virginia, criminal convictions stay on your record forever!

But what about an expungement?  An expungement is a civil process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed, generally after the expiration of time.  Each state has its own process and time frame.  In Virginia the time frame for sealing or destroying record of a criminal conviction is NEVER.  That’s right.  In Virginia, if you are found guilty of a crime, or if you plead guilty to a crime, that criminal record will remain forever and cannot be expunged automatically.

Is there a process in Virginia to have a record expunged?  The answer to that is Yes.  If you have a criminal record you can petition the court to have the record expunged.  But the only way a criminal record can be expunged in Virginia is if the criminal arrest was not finalized by a guilty verdict in any form, or if the court finds that the dissemination of information relating to the arrest of the petitioner causes or may cause circumstances which constitute a manifest injustice to the petitioner.

And most of the time, the court does not find that a manifest injustice exists where there was sufficient evidence to find the person guilty in the first place.  Your definition of a manifest injustice is not usually the same definition that the court uses!

As an example, people often argue that they just can’t be found guilty of reckless driving because it will affect their security clearance.  At least one Commonwealth Attorney I talked with said that they should have thought of that before they were caught going so fast!  Very different viewpoints on whether this is a manifest injustice!

So, if you were arrested but never tried; or if you were arrested and tried but found not guilty, then the expungement process might help you get that arrest off of your records.

Otherwise, there is a very, very, slim chance that the record might be expunged.

The ‘take away’ from this?  Don’t do the crime in the first place, otherwise it may follow you forever.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

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Posted in Crimes, Reckless Driving | No Comments »

Reckless Driving in Virginia

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

Have you been charged with Reckless Driving?

Reckless Driving in Virginia is more than a glorified speeding ticket.  It is a class 1 misdemeanor that can result in up to 12 months in jail and a fine of $2500!

That’s right!  Reckless Driving in Virginia is a CRIME that will remain on your record FOREVER.

The judge will probably not order the maximum penalty for a first offense Reckless Driving charge.  However, there is a really good chance of receiving a hefty fine and a suspension of your driving privileges.  Regardless of the other conditions, the part of the guilty verdict that results in the finding of guilt of a crime remains.

Why is this important?  I had a potential client call me because she was trying to rent an apartment in Florida and they did not approve her application because her name came up when they did a criminal background check.  Yep…it was the Reckless Driving ticket she got 5 years before that showed up as a ‘criminal conviction’ with really no other information explaining that it was for driving at excessive speed.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot we can do except try to get the records to explain that this was a speeding matter and not something that most of us think of as ‘more criminal’ in nature.  By the time we could arrange all of this, the apartment was no longer available, but at least the Potential Client has the information for the next time this happens.

So, what is Reckless Driving?  Reckless Driving is driving at any speed that is in excess of 20 miles over the posted speed limit OR driving at a speed in excess of 80 MPH (regardless of the posted speed limit) OR any driving action that is perceived by the officer to be driving in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.

When they raised the speed limit on most of the interstates in Virginia to 70 MPH, they did not change the limit for Reckless Driving.  I know most people think you can go 10 miles over the speed limit and not get caught, but this is something you should really be aware of.   (As a side note, I’ve been in court when people were found guilty of going 4 miles over the posted speed limit.  After all, it was technically over the posted limit.)

The bottom line is to take a ticket for Reckless Driving very seriously.  I would suggest that you consider the ticket for Reckless Driving as being the same as being arrested for any other crime.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

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Posted in Crimes, General Information, Reckless Driving, Traffic | No Comments »

What is “Sexting”?

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

One of the newer trends with teens (and pre-teens) is ‘sexting’.  This is where someone takes a picture (or video) of him or herself and transmits it to someone else electronically.   This is usually as a text message to a cellphone, hence the term ‘sexting’ which is a combination of the words ‘sex’ and ‘texting’.

The picture is usually sexual in nature and shows parts of their body, or actions,  that they would not normally display in person.  Most of the time the sender thinks it is exciting and fun and is used as a way to explore their sexuality, the fact that they are ‘not just a kid’, or as proof of their ‘love’ for the other person.

The sender does not think about the fact that these pictures are now permanently stored somewhere.  They don’t think about the fact that the person who receives the picture can forward it on to others, by mistake, to brag, or as a way to humiliate the sender when the two have a fight or end their relationship, often laughing and thinking about what a joke it will be.

But they aren’t laughing when the police charge them with the production and/or distribution of child pornography and the possibility of being a registered sex offender!

Child pornography laws were developed to protect the children of our society, and at the time the laws were written, nobody imagined that the children would be producing the pictures on their own.  Most people think that in order to be convicted of producing or distributing child pornography you need to be a ‘dirty old man’.  That is not true.  The statutes don’t say that the producer or distributor must be over the age of 18, male or anything else.  It is the act of production or distribution that defines the crime, not the description of the person doing the act.

The children may not be aware of what they are really doing and they probably have no idea of the legal problems that they are starting.  And yes, you can be found guilty of producing and distributing child pornography when the pictures are of yourself!

How can parents help?  By talking to their children about the proper and improper use of cell phones and taking pictures (or videos) of themselves. By monitoring the cell phone usage of their children.

We talk to our kids about drugs and smoking and the long term dangers associated with those actions.

We also need to talk to them about other dangers in growing up in our society.

Most of our kids are not aware that ‘sexting’ can lead to being ordered to be a registered sex offender.  Or that being a registered sex offender means you can’t get a room in a dorm at college.  Or that they won’t be able to pick their own kids up at schools because sex offenders are not allowed on school grounds.

As parents, we need to make sure our kids know that the excitement they get from  ‘sexting’ is just not worth the possible repercussions!

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What is a Crime?

Friday, April 1st, 2011

According to Dictionary.com a crime is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.

This means that a crime is some action that the state has determined should be discouraged or eliminated.  The state can’t really keep you from doing bad things, but they can punish you for doing those things and hopefully you will realize that the punishment isn’t worth doing the action.

How does the state punish you?  The big difference between a civil action and a criminal action is that in a criminal action, you can be put in jail and your freedom is taken away.

Trust me, if you don’t like people telling you what to do, you will really not like being in jail or prison!

The state can also give you a fine and possibly take away other privileges (such as taking away your driver’s license or right to vote).

I can’t list all of the activities that are considered criminal or I’d be here all day.

Basically, if you take something that isn’t yours to take, it’s a crime.  If you touch anyone else and they don’t like it, it’s a crime.  If you go somewhere and you aren’t supposed to be there, it’s a crime.  If your actions could cause injury to anyone else, it’s a crime.  If the state has determined that your actions may cause damage to society as a whole, it just might be a crime.

How do you know for sure if your actions might be criminal?  You can check out the Virginia Code.  When anyone is charged with a crime, they must be charged under one or more sections of the Virginia Code.

My advice?  If you are thinking about doing something and you aren’t sure if it is a crime or not…I’d pass and not do it!

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