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A detention is a temporary stop that allows an officer to investigate possible criminal activity. An arrest occurs when law enforcement has probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.  If you are detained or arrested, consulting a criminal defense lawyer in North Carolina can help protect your rights at every stage. What It Means…

In an attempt to fight the “war on drugs” in the United States, Congress passed the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act that created a 100-to-1 disparity between the amount of powder and cracks of cocaine required to enforce a federal mandatory minimum sentence. The Act led to the undeniably disproportionate incarceration of Black people throughout the country,…

At Marcilliat & Mills PLLC, our criminal defense attorneys in Raleigh know the importance of protecting our North Carolina residents’ right to keep and bear arms as afforded by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Our Wake County defense lawyers also know that simply because that right is guaranteed, both state and federal laws regulate the…

Human remains found in an undeveloped camping area near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming are those of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old woman from New York. Petito left in July on a cross-country van camping trip with her boyfriend, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie. The couple was later seen fighting and police separated them for a…

The state of North Carolina has taken another big step towards improving its criminal justice system. Governor Roy Cooper recently signed a bill into law that raised the minimum age of prosecution for children from six to eight. However, the change falls short of raising the minimum age of prosecution to 10, as was initially proposed….

Governor Roy Cooper has signed four bills into law after receiving recommendations from his Task Force for Racial Equality in Criminal Justice (TREC). “We have seen that the criminal justice system doesn’t always treat everyone the same – and too often the differences are disproportionately felt by people of color,” he told reporters. “This legislation…

On Jan. 6, a flood of people stormed the U.S. Capitol building. Windows were crushed. Police barricades were broken. Lawmakers fled the building. Some of the rioters assaulted police officers. Others called for former vice president Mike Pence to be hanged. The House of Representatives is determined to investigate despite a Republican filibuster of…

As we follow the news of U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R, Florida), some have asked whether the allegations against the congressman necessarily involve illegal behavior. After all, in North Carolina the age of consent is 16. That means that consensual sex with a 17-year-old is legal, as long as the parties are unrelated, and…

The singular difference between police and others is that the police are authorized to use force. Sometimes, that force kills people. When is the use of deadly force justified – and when is it murder? In the Derek Chauvin trial, the defense argued that George Floyd died due to an underlying heart condition and…

There have been two more high-profile sexual misconduct allegations recently, against GOP Representative Tom Reed of New York and Deshaun Watson, quarterback of the Houston Texans. In each case, a woman or women complained about the men’s aggressive sexual behavior. Each stands to lose a great deal from the allegations. Do they have the…