Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Data Breach Victims: What Recourse Do You Have?
Businesses and other organizations routinely collect stores of information about their customers, clientele and others they deal with. This data can include detailed personal and financial details that can be misused in the wrong hands. Despite an organization’s best efforts to keep this data secure, it can be hacked, stolen and otherwise released to unauthorized… Read More »
What to Do if You Suffer a Consumer Data Privacy Violation
Companies engaged in consumer transactions regularly collect data about their customers. This can include sensitive information, such as an individual’s social security number, bank and credit card numbers and biographical details. Companies also gather information on customer shopping preferences, purchasing habits and the like and sell this data to other companies. This information, although presumably… Read More »
The 10 Most Common Types of Identity Theft
Identity theft occurs when one person gets hold of another’s personal information — such as a Social Security number, bank and credit account numbers and records of other assets — and uses the data for purposes of financial gain. For victims of identity theft, the consequences can include large financial losses, inability to seek employment… Read More »
What Happens if You Host a Gathering While in Quarantine?
Along with the serious health risks associated with coronavirus, Americans are burdened by quarantine orders and similar directives that forbid them from seeing their loved ones, even for major events such as holidays and birthdays. It can be tempting to try to break the rules, especially for people who believe that they don’t fall into… Read More »
When Can Police Make a Search Without a Warrant?
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens against “unreasonable search and seizure” and sets basic requirements for a warrant based “upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” But it’s important to know that police don’t always… Read More »
Guarding Against Allegations of Sexual Assault on Campus
For many college students, weekend parties are an unofficial but legitimate part of the college experience. When alcohol is readily available and consumed in excess, the potential exists for some students to engage in acts that can have serious consequences. Alleged sexual misconduct on campus has attracted a great deal of media attention in recent… Read More »
What Is the Difference Between a Felony and a Misdemeanor in West Virginia?
In many states, criminal offenses are divided into categories based on the seriousness of the offense and the severity of the punishment. In West Virginia, felonies are serious crimes that call for incarceration in state prison for at least one year along with a possible fine. Misdemeanors, in comparison, are also serious offenses, but get… Read More »
What Are Miranda Rights, and When Should They Be Read?
Anyone who has watched a TV crime drama has seen an officer deliver a warning to a suspect at the point of arrest that begins, “You have the right to remain silent,” and goes on to spell out other rights the suspect has. But why do police recite this warning? And at what point is… Read More »
Questions to Ask Your Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you need a lawyer to defend you against criminal charges, you cannot afford to make the wrong choice. You must do your research on the person you’re considering to represent you. If you wouldn’t hire just anybody to remodel your house or work on your car, you certainly shouldn’t hire just anyone to protect… Read More »