by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 18, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Drug Charges
Have you ever wondered why we treat many of our low-level criminal offenders so terribly? Many of the people who accused of these relatively minor offenses are often hit with some truly harsh penalties that make their lives very difficult. In fact, in some cases, the... by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 16, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
Comedian/satirist John Oliver opened an immense can of worms with his criticism of the American bail system. The segment garnered the attention of the Washington Post, Slate.com, Time magazine and other, perhaps less revered news outlets. Oliver explained the way bail... by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 11, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
We are finishing up our discussion of efforts to address the issues that cause and result from the incarceration of people with serious mental illnesses. This is not a new problem by any means, but a new nationwide imitative — Stepping Up — has brought the... by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 9, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Misdemeanors
We are turning back to our discussion of jails and detainees with mental illness. When we left off in our May 25 post, we were talking about North Carolina’s efforts to get these detainees the treatment they need and to alleviate the strain on county jails.... by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 5, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Sex Crimes
Anyone faced with a sex crime charge in North Carolina faces serious consequences if they are convicted. And with action taken recently by the General Assembly, the stakes have been raised even higher, at least for certain individuals who work around students in the...