South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

When charged with a federal crime, it is important to learn about the Federal Sentencing system because it is very different from state court proceedings. The Federal System uses the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are now advisory, when calculating a sentence. A court calculates a particular guideline range by reviewing a defendant's criminal history as well as the applicable base offense level.

However, in certain cases, a defendant may be subjected to sentencing enhancements. For example, a person may receive an enhancement for the role in the offense if the court determines that they were an organizer, supervisor, or a recruiter. Additionally, a person may receive an enhancement for using sophisticated means to facilitate a crime or for abusing a position a trust. A sentencing court will also enhance a person's sentence if the court finds that the defendant targeted a vulnerable victim, such as an elderly person.

Federal judges are free to sentence a person above the guidelines or below the guidelines in most cases. Nevertheless, certain crimes carry mandatory minimum penalties which are statutory, so a district court judge can not go under this type of sentence. For example, certain drug offenses carry mandatory minimum sentences depending on the quantity of drugs attributable to the offense of conviction as well as for prior drug convictions.

It is important to hire a criminal lawyer who is knowledgeable about federal sentencing and the guidelines. A federal attorney will be able to evaluate a presentence investigation report and make the appropriate objections at sentencing.

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In a recent opinion, United States v. Rivers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit readdressed whether a conviction for failure to stop for a blue light in South Carolina constitutes a crime of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act ("ACCA"). In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Chambers, the Fourth Circuit held that this state crime does not qualify as an ACCA predicate.

Federal law prohibits previously convicted felons from possessing a firearm. Normally, under section 924 of the United States Code, a felon in possession of a firearm could receive a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison. However, a defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon with three prior convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense qualifies as an armed career criminal. As a result, the accused is subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen (15) years imprisonment. It is therefore important to inform your criminal defense attorney of any prior convictions when charged with any federal crime, especially a firearms offense.

The Fourth Circuit previously held in Roseboro that a conviction under South Carolina's failure to stop for a blue light satisfied the test established by the United States Supreme Court in Begay v. United States and qualified as a violent felony. The Roseboro court used the modified categorical approach to determine that the crime could constitute a violent felony if the underlying conduct included willful or intentional behavior. However, in Rivers, the court held that failure to stop for a blue light only contains one category of crime, so using the categorical approach outlined in Chambers, the court determined that this south carolina state conviction can never qualify as an ACCA predicate.

Prior convictions are routinely used in federal court to enhance a defendant's sentence. It is therefore important to contact an experienced federal attorney when facing a federal indictment.

Continue reading "Failure to Stop For a Blue Light No Longer a Crime of Violence Under the ACCA" »

Over the past several years there has been a major shift in the manner in which cocaine arrives in the United States. In years past my office in Miami represented a large number of Columbia, Cuban and Haitian nationals that were charged with trafficking in cocaine. Attorneys in Miami and New York spent a great deal of time defending drug charges in federal court. The change has come in the manner in which cocaine is now entering the United States. The Columbian cartels of old would use the Port of Miami as one of the largest delivery areas in the country. With the burden of delivery falling on the Columbians. That has now changed with the introduction of the Mexican cartels. There have always been Mexican cartels, but with limited access to cocaine, the profits were not anywhere near what the Columbian cartels were producing. Now, the Columbian cartels have realized a simple solution to getting cocaine to the United States. Let the Mexicans handle the drug trafficking into the United States. It has been abundantly clear that the largest supplier of cocaine to the United States is now Mexico. The cocaine is easily delivered from Columbia to Mexico.
Our criminal defense attorneys in South Carolina have seen a dramatic increase in federal drug trafficking charges. The drug conspiracies have Mexican ties at several different levels. The Mexican cartels are shipping the cocaine throughout the country via the interstate road system. At any given moment there are thousands of kilograms of cocaine traveling on interstate 10 and interstate 95. The cocaine is bound for cities such as Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, or New York. There is still cocaine coming into Miami, but the DEA has been so active in Miami, it is easier for the Columbian cartels to just deliver the cocaine to Mexico. Our federal defense attorneys are experience in defending drug conspiracies throughout the United States.
Local DEA officers in South Carolina are being over run with drug cases. There is also a large money laundering enterprise in the Myrtle Beach area that is yet to be indicted. There is a significant lack of federal law enforcement in the Grand Strand area. The need for this law enforcement and a Federal Courthouse in Myrtle Beach would increase the quality of life for many people in the area.

Continue reading "Mexican Drug Cartel Control Cocaine Supply in South Carolina" »

2009 has turned out to be a very big year for child pornography indictments in South Carolina. The use of KAZAA and Limewire for sharing information on the internet has turned out to be a tremendous help to the government in catching what they believe to be people possessing child pornography. These file sharing services are being used by some to distribute child pornography, but there are also some people that are being taken advantage of through this service. By allowing an application to be installed on your computer, you are in fact allowing access to the computer through that service. It is possible for someone to download and store information on your computer without your knowledge. It is also possible for someone to use your computer as a remote server and disseminate information from your computer without your knowledge. A federal defense attorney is critical to any defense that could be presented prior to an indictment or during the trial process.

There are several defenses to some child pornography cases. Depending on who has access to your computer, if you are in a custody battle with a spouse, and how the files ended up on your computer all make for a basis to contest a child pornography indictment. It is important to remember that the amount of prison time that one may receive in a federal court will be based on the number of images and videos that the government can prove you either possessed or distributed. The worst case scenario would be to be charge with making child pornography. This provides for a particular enhancement under the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Our South Carolina defense attorney is experienced in defending federal child pornography charges throughout the United States.

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The Mace Firm is announcing that we are starting an immigration division. This division will be headed by Nicole Mace. The immigration attorney in our Myrtle beach office will handle family based immigration issues throughout South Carolina. Family based visas will be the primary area that the immigration division will focus on in the Myrtle Beach Area. We will be using an attorney out of Miami to handle any deportation proceedings based on criminal law violations. This new area of law is based on the numerous number of appointments that clients have made in the past year at our office in Myrtle Beach. We will expand this area to the Charleston area if needed.

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There have been recent mortgage fraud indictments released from the United States Attorney in South Carolina. These indictments are actually bank fraud charges. There is actually no such crime in the federal judicial system called "mortgage fraud." There is a combination at times of wire fraud, mail fraud, and or bank fraud that relate to the acquisition of a mortgage or home loan. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is normally the lead investigative agency. The FBI has dedicated an entire task force for mortgage fraud cases. This comes after the dramatic increase in foreclosures in the home loan industry. The old saying is, "there is no fraud until people stop making payment." This increase in investigations is based on the powerful banking industry complaining to the government that they were defrauded by dirty investors. What they are not disclosing is the fact that the banks were in on the fraud the entire time. The banks have been banking for a long time and were well aware that the housing market was over inflated. The banks also knew that they were giving the money away to individuals that did not qualify for any loan, much less a million dollar loan. The banks continued doing this and selling the debt to other banks and investors. In other words, we will give you what ever you want and sell the debt to another bank.
A good federal defense attorney is critical to defending a case against an individual or a company. It is extremely import that a potential target of an investigation NOT SPEAK to anyone until consulting an attorney. Our defense attorneys are licensed in several states and numerous federal jurisdictions. We handle these type of federal indictments all over the country. We handle the mortgage fraud from pre-indictment all the way through an appeal to the United States Supreme court if necessary. We have an excellent appellate attorney in house for any issues that are not resolved at the trial level.

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Myrtle Beach Divorce Attorney Nicole Mace was recently quoted in the Sun News regarding the divorce of Governor Mark Sanford. Nicole Mace is an attorney with The Mace Firm in Myrtle Beach. Mrs. Mace heads the family law section The Mace Firm office in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mrs. Mace expressed support for Jenny Sanford in her decision to divorce Governor Mark Sanford. Getting a divorce is never easy, but it appeared from the media that the Governor was unwilling to do what was necessary to prevent his wife from filing for divorce. A good divorce attorney can help with making the right decisions in a divorce or custody battle. Our Myrtle Beach divorce lawyers are able to help with these decisions. Many times hiring the wrong divorce attorney will result in a long drawn out battle that does not benefit any party to the divorce and usually hurts any children from the marriage. Child custody issues will always cause some problems, but our child custody attorney in Myrtle Beach can help get the best result for you and your children.

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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" »

An attorney in South Carolina was arrested for soliciting a client to commit murder. Irby Walker has been arrested for trying to have another attorney killed. The case is being prosecuted in Horry County, South Carolina. Mr. Walker has been suspended by the South Carolina Bar and can no longer practice law. This is a classic example of making attorneys look like scum bags in the eyes of the public. There are some many law jokes based on factual scenarios. Mr. Walker is alleged to have been audio recorded by one of his clients paying for the first part of the murder conspiracy. Myrtle Beach is a high area for violent crime, but this is a bit unusual for sleepy South Carolina. Mr. Walker will most likely higher a good attorney in Myrtle Beach to represent him in his case. Most Myrtle Beach Law Firms handle some type of criminal defense cases. This case will be a highly publicized case and will be tough for anyone to handle. Mr. Walker is facing a substantial amount of prison time for this charge and he will most likely have to go to trial.
Although no one was actually killed in the case, the government may treat the case very seriously in court. Being that Mr. Walker was an attorney in South Carolina, he will be held to a higher standard than the average defendant. The system is less forgiving for those that know the rules and have participated in the system for many years. It is surprising that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was not brought into the case at some point. Many FBI agents have experience with murder for hirer investigations.

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Time is of essence when reviewing a case for a federal criminal appeal. Our federal appellate attorneys are experienced with handling these cases on a daily basis. Hiring the right attorney at his level is your last chance at freedom and your last chance to get back into the justice system. In the Federal Court System the time period to file just the notice of appeal will begin the moment one is sentenced by the court. A good appellate attorney knows these timelines by heart and will be ready to get the preliminary issues related to your case underway. Court reporters and clerks must be contacted and directed to provide specific material to our law firm in order to get the appeal underway. Appeals can range in size from 10 pages up to over 40 depending on the issue presented in the trial or hearing. Every pages can represent a full day or more of legal research and writing. They can expand if there are issues that need extensive attention based on a constitutional violation. Our appellate attorneys in South Carolina are available many times during the week to discuss any appellate issue you or your family may want to discus.

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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal recently made a new ruling on the use of recorded telephone calls made by a non law enforcement agent. The case was based on a violation of supervised release by a federal defendant. The defendant was living with his girlfriend, who had some suspicious as to the defendants' relationship with his ex-wife. The girlfriend recorded the defendants' telephone calls and turned them over to his Federal Probation Officer. In the recordings, the defendant threatens to burn down the girlfriends home after she makes him leave. The district court allowed these telephone calls to be introduced as evidence during the defendants' violation hearing. The defendant objected to this evidence and was overruled by the District Judge. The defendant was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal held that, much like many other Circuits, there is a "Clean Hands" exception to the exclusionary rule. This falls under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2518. In other words the complain-taint cannot set the defendant up for the violation. The Appellate court held that the the introduction of this evidence was improper. It did not matter that the girlfriend was not acting as a government agent at the time. This is a rare opinion out of the Fourth Circuit. It is the correct decision. The federal appellate attorney for this case should be extremely happy with the result for this Circuit.

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In recent news, the Myrtle Beach police announced that they issued over 45 citations and made seven arrests at a checkpoint set up on 17 business near highway 15 in Myrtle Beach on Wednesday morning. Five cars were towed from the scene, and the citations ranged from insurance violations, to driving under suspension, and vehicle registration violations.

The Myrtle Beach and Horry County police have also been setting up additional checkpoints and roadblocks at night to conduct sobriety tests as well as other illegal activity in an attempt to enforce South Carolina's DUI laws. Myrtle Beach attorneys have learned from the local police that an effort is being made across the state to crack on on drunk drivers as a result of the number of deaths associated with drinking and driving in the state last year.

The local police have also cracked down on other offenses related to drugs and alcohol by conducting checkpoints near popular nightclubs in the area. This has resulted in many arrests of tourists, students and locals for disorderly conduct, minors in possession of alcohol, resisting arrest, drug possession, simple assault and battery.

When charged with a crime, including a misdemeanor, it is important to consult with a Myrtle Beach lawyer or a criminal attorney in the area to discuss your options. By pleading guilty to one of these offenses, it could impact your future employment. Additionally, if you are student and you are convicted of a criminal offense, you could be expelled from school.

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