Attorney Carilyn Ibsen's Blog

Advocating For Your Client

2012-01-22T16:47:00.000-05:00

I previously wrote a post about defense attorneys being the most unpopular person in the room. A defense attorney has to be comfortable with that. Their job is to advocate for their client. The cold stares in the courtroom must be disregarded. Your client is your priority.

I represented a man earlier this week in a 50b restraining/protective order civil hearing. A women was accusing my client of acts of violence that would entitle her to a protective order. These are serious allegations. Not only does a protective order get placed in a national registry, but the judge can order the defendant to enroll and complete a batterers treatment program, award attorneys fees and even structure child visitation if they are related to the case. We had a strong case with good evidence to rebut her claims. The judge refused to grant the women's request and the case was dismissed. My client was happy. Others in the courtroom were not.

Later in the week I was back in criminal court with a different client. My client was accused of assaulting a police officer at the jail. I felt the video exonerated my client. The judge found her not guilty of the assault on the police officer. As far as being the most unpopular person in the room; police officers in Mecklenburg County are subpoenaed twice a month for cases they have worked on. They come to court on their court day and sit in rows on the side of the courtroom. They wait for their cases to be heard and watch the court proceedings. I felt the stare of many in the courtroom while I cross examined the officer regarding the issue which I believed was excessive force used by the officer.

The job of the prosecutor is to represent the state. They are not there to advocate for the accused. A defense attorney won't win a popularity contest, but that is not their job. Their job is to advocate for their client, even though it might be unpopular.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by the Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

A Second Chance at Success, Cont....

2012-01-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

Almost a year ago, I wrote about a case I had in juvenile court. I called it A Second Chance At Success. This youngster was likely facing a disposition that would result in a lengthy term at a Youth Development Center in North Carolina. Called YDC, many juveniles call it prison for kids. Thankfully, this child ended up going into foster placement. I saw stability in this young person's life that never existed before. Whether this young adult would succeed or not, it was in their own hands now.

I often tell my young clients, the best gift they can give themselves is a signed order from a judge that terminates their probation. Successful completion. I received a copy of an order over Christmas that terminated the child's probation in this case. What a nice Christmas gift for not only the attorney, but for this young adult.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office Of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Without the Recording...

2011-11-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

Criminal defense attorneys speak to their clients about events that happened the night they were arrested. Often they are entirely different than what a police report reads. Tape recordings and videos are invaluable. Granted, sometimes they don't help your case, but many times they prove what your client said was true.

The clip below is a story that appeared on the Today show. It's not a criminal case, but it demonstrates a situation where the majority of people would not believe what they were being told. Cheyanne, a special needs student from Ohio told her parents that her teachers were being mean to her. The parents reported the abuse to the school. The school responded by stating the child was lying. The Superintendent said the parents were bordering on slander and harassment. At some point the parents sent the child to school with a tape recorder.

Listen to the tapes. It is disturbing beyond belief. Would you have believed this girl without the recording?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

A Proper Exit

2011-11-08T18:09:00.004-05:00

Veterans Day is this Friday. 60 minutes had a moving story on veterans who return to Iraq after being injured. Called Operation Proper Exit, injured soldiers are given the opportunity to return to Iraq in an attempt to confront the traumatic memories that forced them to leave. They are given the opportunity to leave on their own terms.

In 2007, Corporal Steven Cornford, was hit in the left shoulder while under attack by an enemy machine gun nest in Iraq. Severely injured, he ran to grab his Lieutenant who was also hit. Corporal Cornford ended carrying the Lieutenant over a mile to a medevac helicopter. The Lieutenant died. Corporal Cornford underwent surgery and survived.. He was 18 years old at the time.

Three years later, he still cannot forgive himself. He thought he could do more. He was awarded the Silver Star for Valor. In his early 20's now, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Corporal Cornford returned to Iraq to try to put to rest the guilt and anger:

Operation Proper Exit helps Cornford and the others lay down some of the burden by bringing them back not just to a place but to a time, a time they were proud of. The trip is a tour and every stop is part of the therapy. Back with the troops, the machines, and the weapons that were their strength.

This post doesn't have much legal significance (Although I am confused by the fact that our country sends a 18 year old into battle, but doesn't let him by a beer). However, it reminded me of the important reason behind the court holiday this Friday. Also, the importance of not only a proper exit, but a proper homecoming for soldiers that were never given one.

Here is the link to Troops First Foundation.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Knowing When to Say No

2011-10-23T12:46:00.002-04:00

My mother called me the other day and asked "Do you know when to say no?". She had been watching the case of People v. Conrad Murphy, the well known case against the doctor who administered Propofal to Michael Jackson at his home to help him sleep. The emergency doctor testified that his duty to a patient included the ability to recognize when something is outside of his area of practice. You call for help or you send the patient to a doctor who specializes in that area. The doctor testified that an emergency room doctor would never administer Propofal; the anesthesiologist would be called. Similarly, a heart surgeon does not remove an appendix and a podiatrist does not test for allergies.

Most lawyers receive many phone calls throughout the course of the day. Their duty is the same. I get phone calls for a variety of issues. Recently a small business owner called with an issue with their bank. I don't sue banks. Someone else got fired from their job. Referred them to an employment attorney. Someone bought a house. Told them to find a real estate attorney and a good title insurance firm.

Nobody likes to turn away business. However, sometimes the duty to your client requires it.

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The State of Education

2011-10-02T18:16:00.000-04:00

Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice wrote an Op-ed piece for Newsday about the high school students who have been criminally charged in New York after they paid a recent graduate to take the SAT for them. Greenfield's piece touches on a controversial subject- at what point does a bad act become criminal enough that it should be prosecuted in a criminal courtroom. Have we punished the student enough by denying them entry into college? As Greenfield writes- they need punishment but not a scarlet letter. Many will disagree with this, but this story highlights a larger problem with our educational system- the test driven environment that rewards the student who answers the question correctly, not the student with character, problem solving ability or the individual thinker. Is the criminal justice system going to fix this?

I recently attended a screening of the documentary Race To Nowhere. This is how the film is described on its website:

Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren't developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what's best for their kids. Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illnesses, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at either college or the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

I could not help but think of this movie when I read about the case in New York. In the movie, students freely admit that cheating has become common in schools. I don't think anyone disagrees with Kathleen Rice's statement that cheating has become "more systemic than in just Great Neck North." Is higher security at the SAT going to fix this? Is the threat of criminal prosecution going to prevent it from happening? Even our teachers are cheating. Here is a link to the well known story in Atlanta. Schools are pressured to hit certain numbers; administrators and teachers are incentivized for higher test scores. We have created a system where the strength of our centers of learning and ultimately the success of their students is measured by test scores. Their funding is dependent on it. Should we expect our students to act any differently when the rules of the game are one dimensional?

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office Of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Answer We Don't Want To Hear

2011-09-25T11:23:00.002-04:00

The case against Troy Davis was based heavily on eyewitness testimony. 7 of the 9 witnesses recanted their testimony. There was little physical evidence. Many will disagree with the fact that he could of been innocent. However, you cannot dispute the statistic cited in the Observer editorial that since the United States reinstated the death penalty, more than 130 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. For those who look at it from an economic prospective, the death penalty has issues:

Studies show repeatedly that states without the death penalty have fewer murderers. They also show that the costs of death penalty cases are anywhere from 48 percent more (in Tennessee) to 70 percent more (in Maryland and Kansas) than non-death-penalty murder cases. Death penalty cases cost more even if post-conviction appeals aren't included. That's because the greatest costs in death-penalty cases are before and during the trials.

Today's column in the Observer by Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald suggests that it is ignorant to believe that we always get it right:

You have to believe that. You have to make yourself believe it. Otherwise, how do you sleep at night? So of course a prosecutor speaks confidence. What else is he going to speak? Truth? Truth is too big, too dangerous, too damning. Truth asks a simple question: in what field of endeavor have we always gotten it right? And you know the answer to that .Meaning the death penalty, a flimsy edifice erected on the shaky premise that we always get it right, that human systems always work as designed, that witnesses make no mistakes, that science is never fallible, that cops never lie, that lawyers are never incompetent....

We hear about the death penalty cases. The national media rarely focuses on non-violent cases that occur at the local level. There are still mistakes.

Several years ago when I was a prosecutor in Orange County, a friend of mine in the office was handling a case where a homeless man in a park allegedly touched several students inappropriately. These students were all friends. The man was arrested and held in jail for over a year awaiting trial. He denied everything. The case went through a police investigation where the victims all identified the same person, several months of court hearings, motions, discovery issues and was set for trial. On the trial date, the parents called and said the kids didn't want to come to court. The prosecutor was confused and didn't understand the turn of events. One child finally admitted that they made it up. The case was dismissed.

How could this happen? How did the kids all pick the same guy out of the photo line up? My fellow prosecutor went back to the police department and reviewed the line up. She asked the detectives if they had the kids ID the suspect individually or in a group. They said individually. They used a six photo line up, called a six pack. She then asked the detectives if they changed the order of the pictures for each child. They said no- months earlier they had all the kids in the waiting room. They brought them in one at a time. All identified the same guy. Case closed. What they didn't know was that the first child told the others which one she picked and others followed suit. Since there was no change in the order of the pictures, everyone identified the homeless guy. The case proceeded through the system. A man sat in county jail accused of something he didn't do.

Mistakes happen. However, that didn't help Frank Lee Smith who was exonerated 11 months after he died, 14 years after he was convicted.

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Take The Identification Test

2011-09-21T18:37:00.001-04:00

Witness identification has shown to be very unreliable. ABC News had a story recently on the nightly news addressing the problems with identification. Click here to watch the story. The well known North Carolina case involving Ronald Cotton was mentioned. Mr. Cotton spend over 10 years in jail after he was wrongly identified in a sexual assault case. The ABC news segment ends with the viewer taking a test to see if the viewer could identify the correct person. It's worth taking a look at.

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Pay It Forward

2011-09-07T19:07:00.000-04:00

You often hear the phrase "pay it forward". There was a movie made about it. According to Wikipedia it means "the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead."

I'm not sure if my situation applies, but a man from South Carolina did a really nice thing for my client. My client was accused of something he didn't do. This man from South Carolina witnessed the incident. My client didn't do anything wrong. This man came to court. He drove several hours to court and took time out of his life because it was the right thing to do. He didn't ask for anything. He didn't request to be subpoenaed, he didn't ask for anyone to pay for his gas. He drove several hours because it was the right thing to do. The District Attorney dismissed the case.

The gentleman from a beach city in South Carolina, thank you. It reminds me to pay it forward.

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

DWI/DUI Checkpoint Weekend- A Double Whammy

2011-08-27T14:59:00.001-04:00

Summer is coming to an end but it appears the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has no plans on ending their DWI/DUI checkpoints. A DWI/DUI checkpoint was held Thursday night on Brookshire Boulevard. Nine people were arrested for driving while impaired. Friday night brought another checkpoint- 13 people were arrested for driving while impaired at Providence Road in the South Charlotte area.

Legal Updates Provided By the Law Office Of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Pursuit of a Shoplifter

2011-08-06T15:33:00.001-04:00

A recent news story poses an interesting question- at what point does the safety of the public outweigh the necessity to apprehend a shoplifter. Gracie Johnson drowned to death yesterday. She and two others allegedly stole some merchandise from Burlington Coat Factory. One person was apprehended inside the store. Ms. Johnson and her daughter were pursued by Burlington Coat Factory loss prevention officers as they left the store. This pursuit went through a large parking lot, down an embankment and into McAlpine Creek. This creek is approximately 1/4 mile from the store.

Police Departments have very detailed policies regarding pursuits. The decision whether to initiate a pursuit is balanced against the danger to the public. Innocent people are killed every year in police pursuits. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that 314 innocent bystanders were killed one year in police pursuits.

Loss prevention officers are not police officers. They are employed by the store.

Yet, Burlington Coat Factory employees chased two people into a creek yesterday. One person is dead. The other has yet to be found. The third person was caught in the store. Many people I have spoken to about this case don't feel sorry for Gracie Johnson. She shouldn't have been shoplifting. I can't help but ask if they would feel differently if an innocent bystander in the parking lot had been killed. Would they feel the same about the actions of the Burlington Coat Factory staff?

Do you agree with the actions of Burlington Coat Factory? Would your opinion change if an innocent bystander was hurt?

Legal Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Blind Face of Addiction

2011-07-27T07:30:00.001-04:00

Did the death of Amy Winehouse cause you to think that addiction does not know its user?

Addiction doesn't discriminate against race, gender or wealth. It affects everyone. Celebrities struggle with addiction. Musicians have tragically become members of the '27 Club'. Unlike many others, they have the wealth and resources to receive what many would call "the best help there is". However, addiction is not overcome by wealth. It is only persuaded when the user chooses help.

People die every day from addiction. We only hear about the celebrities. We don't hear about women who work the street, die on the street, either from violence or the addiction. Surprisingly, incarcerated women have higher drug use than incarcerated men. Men are affected also; imprisonment for drug offenses is the most common charge among men.

News shows follow the downward spiral of the celebrity- show the videos, the crazy behavior and pay people for the uncensored shot of the celebrity. We even have reality TV to document the addiction. Most people don't get this attention. Addicts live in an very isolated world. If they don't get help, they end up on the street, in jail or dead. Addiction rarely finds the grey area.

Those who know an addict share something in common. Russell Brand, no stranger to addiction himself, summed it up well in his own blog:

When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. We all know drunks and junkies and they all need help and the help is out there. All they have to do is pick up the phone and make the call. Or not. Either way, there will be a phone call.

It is an great post. Worth a read.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Drug DWI/DUI

2011-07-11T18:32:00.004-04:00

The Charlotte Observer ran an article over the weekend about marijuana and possible effects on a person's ability to drive safely. There is a difference of opinion as to whether marijuana can impair a person's ability to drive safely. Scientific opinions greatly differ on how long marijuana stays in the system and whether it impairs a driver.
So much of dwi/dui research is based upon controlled studies. Most people have seen different controlled studies on investigative programs on TV: a group of people agree to drink alcohol and then drive a car in a supervised area. Very few of these studies have been done with drugs since they are illegal in most states. However, with some states now allowing marijuana for medicinal uses, such controlled studies are being conducted.

Disagreement in the scientific community does not change the fact that the District Attorney will prosecute dwi's/dui's that involve drugs. Also, many people are shocked to learn that the District Attorney will pursue cases when there is an alcohol result less that .08. This is an interesting topic with more research coming. In the meantime, cases will continue through the court system.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Caylee's Law

2011-07-09T14:36:00.002-04:00

With the controversial verdict from Orlando this week, a group has started a petition for a new federal law that would punish parents who don't report their children missing within 24 hours. The overview of the law on the website states:

Caylee's Law: There should be a new law created called Caylee's Law that will make it a felony for a parent or guardian to not notify law enforcement of a child going missing in a timely matter. Let's keep another case like Caylee Anthony out of the courts.

Criminal blogs are raising some valid questions- Josh Blackman's Blog writes:
Would Casey Anthony really have been deterred by a federal statute punishing failure to report a missing child. Of course not..... So let me be really cynical here. How would this keep a case like Caylee's out of the courts. If a parent actually killed her daughter, do you think she would tell the police so as not to violate some random federal statute. The purpose of this law, much like laws requiring the polices about the notification of lost guns, is to allow the police to easily arrest someone, without sufficient cause to show they committed the underlying offense- whether it is a gun crime or murder..

Simple Justice has equal skepticism:

..If a parent was inclined to murder her child, would fear of a prosecution under this law stop her? Would the sentence be death plus a year? This compulsion to avenge a tragedy involving a child by crafting yet another law to deal with a situation already covered (as in murder) has produced a basic rule that any law named after a dead child is invariably a bad exercise of legislative fiat. It's not the intended consequences I fear, but the unintended ones. And there are always unintended ones.

What are your thoughts?

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Sober or the Slammer

2011-07-01T20:26:00.002-04:00

Today's Charlotte Observer had a short article about the 'crackdown' on DWI arrests this fourth of July weekend. Describing the weekend as "It's sober or the Slammer", the Commander of the Highway Patrol predicts that more than 2000 will be arrested this weekend for drunk driving in the Carolinas. State Highway Patrol will work concurrently with Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department's "Booze It or Lose It" campaign to crack down on DWI arrest and speeding.

Have a good Fourth of July and drive safely.

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Necessity of an Expungement

2011-06-26T16:59:00.004-04:00

Today's job market is tough. With record numbers of American unemployed, college graduates unable to find employment and many workers told "you are overqualified for the position", those who have criminal records are even more challenged to find employment. I blogged previously on a Wall Street Journal Article that addressed the high number of people requesting their criminal records be expunged in an attempt to make them more competitive in the job market. An expungement is a process that erases your criminal past.

The Charlotte Observer ran an article today about the record number of people in North Carolina filing for expungements. North Carolina has very strict rules regarding expungements. However, the record of the case is not accessible once the process is complete. For a person applying for a job in today's job market, a clean criminal record is very important.

Another Weekend in Charlotte, Another DWI Checkpoint

2011-06-12T19:11:00.001-04:00

Another weekend in Charlotte brings another DWI checkpoint. Mecklenburg Police Department set up a DWI/DUI checkpoint near the Southpark area at Park Road & Archdale. The Charlotte Observer reported that 67 citations were issued and 16 people were arrested for DWI. The checkpoint ran from 11 pm to 3 am.

View Larger Map

Criminal Law Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Cost of Drugs

2011-06-05T16:32:00.001-04:00

Anyone who has faced addiction understands the control it takes over your life. Anyone who watched their friend or family member spiral out of control realizes they have little, if any, control over the addict. My perspective on addiction changed dramatically when I become involved in the drug and DWI courts as a prosecutor in California. The process was very collaborative and similar to how juvenile courts operate in Mecklenburg County. The prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and the counseling staff would meet and discuss the participants on a weekly basis. It is very unusual for a prosecutor to have access to just about every detail of a defendant's life. I witnessed how drug or alcohol controlled the person's life. Simple things like getting to an appointment on time were challenging. For the majority of people, the program worked.

Mecklenburg County drug court is facing a budget cut. The program is on the chopping block. As of Friday, Mecklenburg County commissioners were trying to find a solution that would prevent this. Statistics show drug courts work. For those who like numbers- the cost of drug court is less than incarceration and the recidivism rate for drug court graduates is substantially lower. This is not a program that we can afford to loose.

Legal Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Probation Violation

2011-06-01T20:13:00.001-04:00

A probation violation can be just as serious as a new criminal case. I have blogged before about the complexity of a probation violation. Today's Simple Justice blog addressed a well known case in Charlotte involving Tiffany Wright. Tiffany Wright was murdered. No one has been charged with her murder. When a DNA test showed Mr. Mitchell was not the father of Ms. Wright's baby, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney did not proceed with a statutory rape case against Royce Mitchell. Case closed? Royce Mitchell is released? No.
Royce Mitchell was on supervised release for a federal drug case. Royce Mitchell was sent back to prison for 2 1/2 years on a supervised release violation. His appeal was recently denied. Like I said, a probation violation can be just as serious as a new criminal case.

Legal Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Courts & The Legislature Collide

2011-05-31T20:31:00.002-04:00

I previously blogged on the issue of state lawmakers creating laws that become impracticable to enforce. California is now set to release approximately 37,000 prisoners due to overcrowding. Today's editorial in the Charlotte Observer addressed this and the specific problem of how courts should respond to it. The editorial and video below is worth a look. This is not a problem that will remain exclusive to California.

Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 30,000 Prisoners

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen (888) 543-2427

A Punishable Need for Speed

2011-05-28T12:00:00.001-04:00

Kyle Busch was in the news this week for his need for speed off the race track. Cited at driving 128 mph in a 45mph zone, Bush is facing speeding and reckless driving charges. My father called me with his opinion. He felt Busch needs to be punished and should be suspended from racing for a short period of time. I asked my father if he thought it was worse for him to be speeding than the average citizen. He thought yes- due to his position in the industry, he should be held to a higher standard of conduct. I followed up by asking if the neighbor down the street received the same speeding ticket, would my father have the same opinion? Should the neighbor not be allowed to go to work? Should the principal arrested for DWI not be allowed to be a principal? Should Montel Williams not be allowed to work?

Ultimately it will be up to the racing organization whether they suspend Busch. However, many will have different opinions on how the law should respond in these situations. Do we hold those in certain professions to higher standards of conduct?

Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

Summer Has Arrived

2011-05-21T09:29:00.002-04:00

As the summer weather arrives this weekend, so have the Mecklenburg County DWI Checkpoints. In the past 48 hours, police have conducted two separate DWI checkpoints. CMPD set up a checkpoint off Remount Road on Thursday night that resulted in 12 DWI arrests. Last night a checkpoint was conducted off of WT Harris Blvd. 14 DWI citations were issued. According to the article, these checkpoints are the beginning of a series that will run through Memorial Day weekend.

Legal Updates Provided By The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

An Educational Superhero

2011-05-14T08:40:00.001-04:00

Time magazine recently published its 2011 World's Most Influential People. Geoffrey Canada, is the Founder of Harlem's Children's Zone Project, a non profit organization that has become a model for what many believe the educational system should strive to become. I first saw Mr. Canada on a 60 Minutes episode several years ago. The movie Waiting for Superman highlights his school. Based on the premise that education is the greatest path to success, Mr. Canada manages to educate a child for $5,000 a year. In 2010, 90% of his 254 senior graduates went to college. This class obtained 6.4 million dollars in scholarships. There is a strict dress code and only a 3 week summer vacation. Tuition is free. Money is raised privately.

Any criminal defense attorney, especially one that handles cases involving juveniles, understands the correlation between education and crime. Some statistics show that high school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested and more that eight times likely to be incarcerated. While the news of the week seems to be focused on a Connecticut high school suspending a student when he taped letters on the side of the school building in an effort to ask another student to prom, I felt more inclined to mention Geoffrey Canada. This is a remarkable story.

Legal Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

The Presumption of Innocence

2011-05-06T06:58:00.002-04:00

The presumption of innocence standard is supposed to be unequivocal. I'm not sure that it always plays out as true in everyday life. Just watch the first ten minutes of the local news, speak to those recently arrested for a DWI, or ask those who recently got a traffic ticket, I don't think they feel they are presumed innocent.

On Wednesday afternoon I received a call on my cell phone. This was the message:

"Hello Ms. Smith, this is Officer ____ with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. I need you to give me a call back in reference to an accident a vehicle that you were driving was involved in yesterday late in the evening. My phone number is _______ and this is Officer ______. I need you to call me immediately in reference to that incident."

An accident? A vehicle I was driving? Tuesday was a long day. I spent Tuesday in the hospital with a family member and was there until early Wednesday morning.
Also, who is Ms. Smith and why is an officer leaving a message for Ms. Smith on my cell phone? I called the officer back, identified myself and told the officer I was not in an accident the night before. I also told him my name was not Ms. Smith. He was polite and stated that someone must have given him the wrong phone number.

But his call prompted me to think about the presumption of innocence. I didn't do anything wrong but immediately feel I am put on the defensive. I know where I was- I have documents and witnesses to verify this, etc.

When a police officer questions a person, does that person walk away feeling like the presumption of innocence is on their side? I'm not sure they do.....

Legal Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427

DWI Checkpoints in Charlotte

2011-04-16T20:48:00.001-04:00

CMPD conducted two DWI/DUI checkpoints in the past 48 hours, one in the South Charlotte area on South Tryon/Highway 49. This location is close to my office. Several things caught my attention about this checkpoint. First, it was strategically placed to make it very difficult to turn around without law enforcement seeing it very easily. The legal issue raised is whether the police have grounds to initiate a traffic stop of a person after they have turned away from a checkpoint. Also, this location is very close to several drinking establishments- The Town of Ayrsley, where my office is located, is very close to the location of one of the checkpoints and has several restaurants/bars that serve alcohol. The checkpoint ran from 11am-3 am, peak times when people leave bars to go home.

Safe to assume with spring arriving, more checkpoints will be set up throughout spring and summer months. Drive Safely.

DWI/DUI Criminal Law Updates Provided by The Law Office of Carilyn Ibsen PLLC (888)543-2427