South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

According to the National Post, Tonya Craft, a Georgia kindergarten teacher, has been found not guilty of molesting three young children by a twelve panel jury in the Catoosa County Superior Court. Craft was originally arrested in 2008 when accusations arose claiming that she had abused three children in her home between years 2005 and 2007. Craft's indictment listed twenty-two charges relating to child molestation. As a result of the extensive amount of allegations against her, she faced approximately four hundred years in prison. Reportedly, one of the children that testified against her at trial was her own daughter. Although Craft was found not guilty, she has lost her job and the custody of her two children in the process. Since the verdict, she has stated that she plans on seeking custody of her children immediately.

During the initial part of trial, Craft's defense attorney, Demosthenes Lorandos, filed a motion requesting the recusal of Judge Brian House. Judge House had represented Craft's ex-husband in their divorce proceedings in the 1990s, which Craft's defense attorney believed would affect the fairness of trial. However, Judge House refused to step down and many spectators did not agree with his decision and found it to be a conflict of interest on his part. This situation has, in turn, caused Lorandos to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office about the behavior of both Judge House and the Catoosa County D.A.'s Office.

In any instance, this case calls into question the validity of testimony provided by children. Most states have what is known as the child hearsay exception wherein judges determine the reliability with due consideration to factors, such as consistent statements, spontaneity, state of mind, etc. Accordingly, the judge must conclude whether these factors, among a list of others, indicate that the child is reliable and his or her testimony can be deemed trustworthy and accurate. However, many psychologists have confirmed that children can often experience false memory. In this type of situation, the child can be pressured or certain behaviors can be suggested by authority figures. This causes the child to want a particular instance to happen to such an extent that they end of believing it, leading to false memory. This is most commonly known as the power of suggestion.

When someone is indicted for a crime, it is important to seek out the assistance of a knowledgeable defense attorney. In this particular case, Craft's attorney was able to show that the testimony provided by the children was unreliable. An attorney must not only be experienced in criminal defense, but also in case studies related to that particular crime in order to prepare a proper defense.

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The United States Court of Appeals has issued a decision in regards to U.S. v. Marques Drakeford Bynum. Bynum initially was indicted for the transportation and possession of child pornography in September of 2006. A jury found him guilty on all counts and he was later sentenced to a term of 192 months in prison. Bynum filed a notice of appeal and oral arguments were held on March 25, 2010. Prior to the issuance the opinion, Bynum argued that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated because the Government used secret administrative subpoenas to obtain his information. During their investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued several subpoenas to different companies associated with Bynum's IP address. Eventually, investigators were provided with his name, telephone number and address. The Court found that Bynum assumed the risks when he gave his information to these companies and also knew that they could possibly be accessed by the police. Further, the Court reasoned that subscriber information is not protected under the Fourth Amendment, so Bynum's argument would have been invalid regardless of his findings.

Bynum also argued that the Government did not provide sufficient evidence proving that he rather than some other person had downloaded the child pornography. The Court stated that there were several factors linking him to the alleged incident making it improbable that the pornography had been accessed by someone else. He further asserted that his 192-month sentence was unreasonable as it was harsh in comparison to individuals under a similar criminal history category. However, the Court determined the Bynum did not demonstrate this excessiveness in relation to other individuals in the same criminal history category and offense level. Thus, the Court found that none of his arguments constituted an error within the district court and subsequently affirmed the judgment.

In the instance case, the Court had to determine applicable law that relates to a more recent evolution, the ability to attain child pornography images online. In many circumstances, the content may have been acquired by the actions of another, not necessarily the owner of the computer and/or IP address. These are the type of issues that may be difficult to prove in court, which is why it is vital to seek the advice of a knowledgeable federal defense attorney that has dealt with issues of this caliber. Child pornography accusations can result in a significant amount of prison time. Our South Carolina attorneys are skilled in criminal defense and also have reliable investigators that are experienced in FBI and law enforcement investigations which will help in the defense of your case.

Continue reading "Ruling on Child Pornography" »

The South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that evidence of prior bad acts of a defendant are not admissible unless motive or intent are at issue with the case. This is classically referred to as 404 Evidence. The United States Attorney will many times use this evidence to prove a case in Federal Court. The Supreme Court of South Carolina previously ruled under State v. Lyle (1923) evidence of other crimes may not be used to infer that the defendant committed the charged crime in this specific case. In South Carolina and many federal courts cases are built on character evidence and not on any real investigation. The conspiracy count of an indictment provides the basis for a conviction when there is no evidence that a defendant did any actual act that was illegal when viewed outside of the criminal conspiracy. In South Carolina the favorite slogan is the "Hand of one - is the hand of all." In lay terms, this means you should never talk to anyone that may be involved in a criminal conspiracy that you do not even know exists. Federal defense attorneys spend most of their careers defending conspiracy charges. In state court this particular count is not used on a regular basis. However, almost every federal indictment includes a conspiracy county. It is the catch all count that is extremely hard to defeat.
Many federal indictments only have one count. The conspiracy count is the allegation that someone agreed with someone else to break the law. The government does not have to prove who the other person in the agreement was in court. Going back to the Lyle evidence, this allows the government to prove your guilt by your prior acts. Once a juror hears you have been convicted of a previous crime or your past actions were criminal, it is very easy to check the guilty verdict box. It is hard to keep this evidence out of the trial, but it can be done on occasion. A good defense attorney is the first step in fighting a criminal charge.

Continue reading "Prior Bad Acts Evidence in Lewd Act" »

A man from Myrtle Beach has been criminally charged for leaving his baby unattended in a car while he was inside a local strip club. He told local authorities that he was at the gentlemen's club to get his wife's cell phone, who was dancing on stage. He was charged with unlawful conduct towards a child. Once arrested, police gave custody to the mother who took the child home.

Although he is currently charged with unlawful conduct towards a child in Myrtle Beach, he could have also been charged with child neglect, child endangerment, or child abuse. He will most likely be court ordered to take parenting classes and may have to take drug and alcohol classes depending on the circumstances.

In criminal cases involving children, the Department of Social Services (DSS) may also become involved depending on the facts of the case, including cases involving domestic violence. If DSS becomes involved, a Guardian ad Litem may be appointed by the Court to conduct an investigation and to determine if the parents are fit to take care of their children. A Guardian ad Litem represents the children in court, and the family court judge usually heavily relies on their findings and conclusions. A Guardian ad Litem usually meets with the children several times, interviews the parents, friends, family, and subpoenas school records.

If DSS feels that the parents are unfit, termination of parental rights proceedings will be conducted. However, the parents are entitled to have a trial in the Family Court before loosing their children because of the serious constitutional rights involved in these types of cases.

Continue reading "Father arrested When Infant found Outside of a Strip Club" »