South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

According to South Carolina's newspaper, The State, William Craig Caughman of Columbia, South Carolina was arrested today for leaving the scene of an accident involving death. This type of offense is more commonly known as a hit and run. Allegedly, Caughman was driving his pickup truck on February 21, 2010 in downtown Columbia and struck a motorist, Toby Morriss. Since Caughman fled the scene, it is unknown whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Shortly after the incident, someone found Morriss' body in the road and immediately contacted authorities. Morriss was rushed to Lexington Medical Center, but died seven (7) days later from a blockage in his lungs associated with the injuries he sustained during the accident.

Until recently, the police have had few leads and no suspects; however, an anonymous tipster called in and identified Caughman as a potential suspect, so the police began their investigation. They discovered that he hid his 2000 Ford Ranger in a shed and the doors had been removed. Investigators believe that other individuals may have assisted him in covering up evidence. As a result of the charges against him, Caughman is facing a maximum of twenty-five (25) years in prison as the crime committed is considered a felony in the state of South Carolina.

For this particular case, Caughman will need an attorney that are knowledgeable about the penalties for varying degrees of homicide. In any situation, if you are under police investigation, it is vital to contact a criminal defense attorney that is experienced in both state and federal law. Our South Carolina attorneys can assist you if you are being investigated or have already been indicted for a crime.

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The United States Supreme Court has recently made a crucial decision on individual rights related to police searches. The decision comes from a lower court state criminal case in Arizona. A defendant was arrested for driving without a valid license. The resulting search produced cocaine and a felony arrest for cocaine. The case reached the United States Supreme Court based on the impact on individual protections. These searches of vehicles can only be attacked by a motion to suppress. In South Carolina State court this motion is not heard until the day of trial unlike most other jurisdictions. This puts the criminal defense attorney in South Carolina in a difficult position to prepare for trial. The case can change dramatically depending on the Court's ruling. The Gant decision will provide the basis for many motions to suppress in South Carolina. The case law in South Carolina is very limited compared to many jurisdictions. One reason for this is the population of South Carolina is very rural and the actual number of cases going to trial is also very limited.
The Federal Courts in South Carolina will take immediate notice of this Supreme Court decision. Many of the State courts will most likely have to litigate the issue and provide the United States Supreme Court analysis for their local decisions. Any good criminal defense lawyer in South Carolina will be familiar with this decision and be able to apply this to any potential case. A good criminal defense attorney will also try to expand the meaning of this ruling to other cases that may be similar. Many attorneys will see this decision as hurting individual rights in the future, but the opposite should be true. This decision should be expanded to other areas of search and seizure law in the United States and South Carolina.

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A new statistic released this month lists Myrtle Beach as the fourteenth (14th) most dangerous place to live. The report uses crime statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Among the crimes factored in the report include murder, assault, grand theft auto and burglary. Local officials have questioned the validity of the report and have stated that it is misleading. For example, officials have stated that the report does not include tourists or part-time residents. Therefore, most of the crime in Myrtle Beach is committed by local residents.

Local law enforcement, including the Myrtle Beach Police Department, may release some conflicting information in the future. Horry County authorities agree that the crime level in Myrtle Beach is closer to the national average and is not nearly as high as suggested by this recent report. Other areas in South Carolina also ranked high in this report. Florence was ranked sixth (6th) most dangerous place to live, Sumter was ranked fifth (5th) and Charleston-North Charleston metro area was ranked twenty-first (21).

Many lawyers in Myrtle Beach have started practicing criminal law over the past few years. These criminal attorneys will agree that Horry County has a significant crime rate. However, most myrtle beach attorneys have not practiced criminal law in a major city such as Miami. The crime rate in Miami is on a large scale, for example, the head of the drug cartele in Colombia was extradited to Miami last year. He manufactured 80% of the worlds cocaine at one time. Therefore, it is hard to believe that Myrtle Beach is ranked so high when compared to urban areas.

Hopefully this report will not hurt tourism to the Myrtle Beach area, especially with the current economy woes. Only time will tell how accurate this report is and whether it will have any impact on tourism this year.

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