It is amazing how quickly mole hills become mounds, small tiffs become fights, and seemingly small charges become life long disabling marks on your record. Having an assault and battery charge against you is a red flag for any employer, landlord, future in-laws, etc. Never should you take a misdemeanor assault lightly or a felony without protecting [...]
What college men / women should know about sexual assault- Sexual assault is extremely common among college students. At least half of these sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, the victim or both. For many, sex and drugs or alcohol go hand-in-hand. However, after the glow has worn off, it may be alleged intercourse [...]
Have you missed a court date? The bad news is you can’t always “make it up”. When you have been ordered to appear for court and then fail to show up, you could be facing additional criminal charges. Ohio judges expect people to show up for their “appointments”, particularly if they were granted bail. Things [...]
Ohio is the most recent state to acknowledge that, for some convicted of drug crimes, drug rehab is a far smarter alternative than prison. Governor John Kasich signed a bill that could allow thousands of prisoners to leave prison early to attend drug rehab. Ohio’s corrections system now holds about ten thousand more prisoners than [...]
It is nothing new that kids often find ways to drink alcohol even when they are under the legal drinking age. Even though most retailers refuse to sell alcohol to individuals under the age of 21 and law enforcement often focuses its efforts on curbing underage drinking, it still happens frequently. Some would argue that the [...]
A lot of times, when I hear people talking about having been caught smoking a joint, they say that they were “only” charged with a minor misdemeanor pay-out ticket. The next thing they say is “No big deal. I only have to pay a fine.” But there are many serious consequences that follow someone who [...]
Your Miranda rights, you’ve heard them read on television a million times and probably know them by heart, but do you know when you must be given these rights? Do you know when you have them? Just for some background, the Miranda Rights were spawned from a 1966 Supreme Court Decision involving a defendant named Miranda. [...]
A very distraught gentleman recently came in to our law offices after learning he was being investigated for possession of child pornography. Under Ohio law, this crime is called Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor, a fourth degree felony in Ohio. If convicted, he would face 6-18 months in prison on each count plus registering as a [...]
In Ohio, like every other state the difference between a state and federal crime is whether you have broken a state of Federal law. If you broke a federal law, then you have committed a Federal offense. Common examples of federal crimes Tax Crimes: Including tax evasion, fraud, and public corruption. Violent crimes: Including kidnappings, child [...]
I have seen a number of people charged with Domestic Violence who have already entered guilty pleas in their case. They didn't think it was a big deal. It is. Domestic Violence is a serious issue in our society. Many times these instances should never have been brought to court. In these cases, there is [...]