Drug arrests remain common in Mississippi and around the country as people fight their addictions. Reports of significant busts often make headlines in the news. When law enforcement finds a person with illegal substances, the charges vary, depending on the...
Criminal Law
Can state crimes be tried in federal court?
Breaking the law may mean a trip to a state court, but not always. Sometimes the federal government looks at a crime committed in Mississippi or another state and decides that it must try someone in a federal court. While some crimes are exclusively federal crimes,...
Can your teen face charges for cyberstalking?
If the teenagers in your family are like most young Americans, they spend much of their lives on connected devices. Indeed, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the average teen in the U.S. is online for roughly nine hours every single...
What are the areas of negotiation for a plea bargain?
Any American who has watched a crime drama is likely familiar with plea bargains. This is when the prosecution offers the defendant the chance to plead guilty to a particular crime without needing to go through a jury trial. There are positives and negatives to plea...
Do you qualify for an expungement?
Having a criminal record may stop you from reaching specific goals in your professional life. An expungement may provide relief. Not all crimes qualify for expungement under the law. However, if yours does, it may open doors that you thought closed long ago. Take a...
How could you end up with a distribution charge?
A drug charge, especially one that rises to a felony level, may alter the course of your life for the foreseeable future. A distribution charge may prove difficult to beat unless you know what it is you are trying to fight. Mississippi law takes drug distribution and...
The consequences of violating your bail conditions
If you are under arrest for a criminal charge, it is important that you understand the bail process. Knowing your rights when it comes to bail, as well as the consequences if you violate it, is part of protecting yourself when preparing for a trial. Following an...
Reviewing Mississippi’s self-defense laws
A common assumption that many in Mississippi may hold is that any altercation justifying criminal charges must logically include two willing participants. For this reason, claims of self-defense made by one facing such charges may often prompt skepticism. Yet at the...
Some Mississippi prosecutors will not enforce abortion laws
On July 6, 2022, Mississippi's trigger law banning most abortions went into effect. The law makes abortion illegal except in cases of rape or to save the life of the mother. However, some Mississippi prosecutors say they do not plan to prosecute violators of this law....
Proving an intent to distribute controlled substances
Drug charges in Mississippi are serious. Should law enforcement discover controlled substances in your ownership, they may charge you with misdemeanor possession crimes. Other charges, however, are much more serious. In some cases, officials gather evidence that...
