Legal Question in Criminal Law in South Carolina

Please excuse any delay in answering your question. I am a criminal defense attorney with an office in Horry County, but I practice in all of the surrounding counties including yours. I normallly would respond immediately to your question. However, this web site has a delay in relaying the questions to the attorneys. That can be avoided in the future if you email me directly at [email protected]

As to your question, I'm afraid that the best advise I have for you is to hire a criminal defense attorney. Only a criminal defense attorney would have all of the necessary information, connections, legal understanding, and most importantly the necessary knowledge on how to proceed with this. Only a criminal defense attorney would know how to get through the legal system and put any new information to your family member's best interest.

You could hire a private investigator, but then what? Anything that a private investigator uncovers would be needed to be used in your family member's defense and then your back to square one needing an attorney. I'm not just saying that because that is how I make a living. If this was a very serious medical condition, my advise would be the same. Go hire a doctor. I'm sure you can see the sense in this.

There are certain ways of obtaining very valueable information through the Discovery process and through other legal and court system means that can often produce the same results as what an investigator would uncover. Again, only a criminal defense attorney would know how to go about that and then and very importantly, know how to go about using that information in his defense.

There are many different approaches to these things. We can use a Preliminary Hearing, which is a Probable Cause Hearing, various Motions for Probable Cause and other hearings on the same matter, we can obtain Affidavits, make certain Motions to Dismiss and/or Surppress, and the list goes on and on. On occsations a defense attorney can have a quiet and private conversation with the prosecutor and show him/her that this would not be a good case to take to trial and possibly get the charges reduced or dismissed.

I can appreciate your frustrations and your serious desire to help. But the bottom line is, no matter what approach you take, you will always end up back on square one needing a defense attorney.

Obviously that costs money. I won't mislead you and tell you otherwise. Hiring a good lawyer is expensive. There are far more reasons for that then people realize. If your family member cannot afford a private attorney, then they need to immediately apply for a Public Defender.

If you think that you and your family can afford a private attorney, you are more than welcome to call. I'm going on two decades of defending people and I have substantial experience in dealing with exactly what you just described.

Again, if you email me directly, or call me, you will get a fast and immediate response.

Attorney Robert J. Johnston

Horry County, SC

843-946-0099

Email: [email protected]