Pike County Criminal Defense & Personal Injury Lawyer

Criminal Defense

Criminal defense cases are especially important to us, and we make their defense a priority. A criminal charge could mean prison time, high fines, and maybe loss of your income. With so much to lose, you’ve got to be prepared. As one of the most experienced criminal defense attorneys in the region, we are ready to handle whatever charge you have; odds are, we’ve handled dozens of similar cases before. Should we file a suppression of evidence motion because of an illegal stop by law enforcement? Throw out your statement or a confession due to duress? Schedule preliminary hearings to discover evidence or nail-down law enforcement? These are all motions and practices that John J. McNeil has seen and done many times before.

Besides having thousands of hours of in-courtroom experience, Pike County criminal attorney John J. McNeil is a member of the National Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Mississippi Association for Justice, and is continually participating in these and other organizations and their continuing legal education seminars to share his knowledge and stay up-to-date on caselaw and national criminal defense trends.

DUI and DWI

Driving under the influence charges, also known as driving within the influence in Louisiana, can be costly both in jail time and in everyday life.

A first offense conviction in Mississippi can get you up to $1,000.00 fine and two days jail. A second offense is serious business, resulting in up to a $2,000.00 fine and six months in jail; a third offense or greater means significant prison time. In any of those cases, your license will be suspended for at least 120 days. Non-adjudication is available in some cases, which could keep the charge off of your record, and a knowledgeable lawyer knows who can qualify and who can’t. For many people, these charges can mean the loss of your job and livelihood. DUI and DWI charges are some of the most difficult charges to defend. Police officers are taught how to answer questions, but an experienced DUI and DWI lawyer knows how to get around their stock answers.

An experienced lawyer knows that many times, these charges can be beat due to improper stops by the officers. If the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to arrest you, then your charges could be thrown out altogether. Also, the intoxilyzer 8000 machine may not be calibrated properly, another reason to throw out results. These are only a few examples; check our services section for more information about your rights when charged with a DUI or DWI.

Misdemeanors

Misdemeanor offenses are generally classified as carrying less than one year of jail time, that is still a significant amount of time. Often times, people are wrongfully charged with misdemeanor telephone or electronic harassment charges. We also see a significant amount of disturbing the peace or failure to obey an officer charges, where people were simply asking questions; in those cases, these charges are not proper and should be dismissed.

Simple assault or simple domestic violence, for instance, can carry up to six months in jail. Also, a simple domestic violence charge can result in you losing your rights to carry a firearm, and punishable as a federal offense.

Misdemeanor crimes can often be negotiated to a remand to the file or dismissed by a skillful litigator. Check under our practice areas to learn more about this.

Felonies

Any crime that potentially carries more than one year in jail is considered a felony. Serious felonies can carry a possibility of decades in prison, life, and even the death penalty. Common felonies we see indicted in this area include grand larceny, and burglaries. Larceny is defined as the taking away of the personal property of another with the intent to deprive them of it. A larceny is considered grand larceny when the alleged property taken is more than $1,000.00 in Mississippi. Burglary is the breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another with the intent to commit a crime therein. Burglary can carry up to 25 years in prison for a home, or 7 years for a vehicle or a storage building. Burglary and larceny charges often rely heavily on witness statements and confessions. The best defense in these cases is by attacking unreliable witness statements, and suppressing a defendant’s statements due to duress, pressure, and guarantees by the police, which can overcome the voluntariness of a statement, which is necessary under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Drug Charges

The most common of all felonies is, of course, drug crimes, also known as controlled substances. Drug felonies include possession of illicit drugs, including possession of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and heroine, and also possession of certain legal drugs where there is no prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and Xanax. Prison time possible for these crimes depends on the amount alleged to be in the possession of a defendant. However, more serious drug felonies are charges as possession of drugs with intent to sell, and sale and trafficking of drug charges. In those cases, even a very small amount of controlled substance can be charged as a felony intent to sell or sale crime. A trafficking of a Schedule I controlled substances crime can carry 10 years mandatory in prison, known as “day for day” time. In these cases, a strong investigation and suppression of search warrants and evidence under the Fourth Amendment is vital to a good defense. However, even a failure to get a statement suppressed is not the death-knell of a case. Regarding statements by Defendants or as law enforcement calls them, “confessions,” your lawyer should know what method of interrogation is being used, as certain agencies are trained to interrogate using a known methodology.

Personal Injury

Personal injury lawsuits are often the result of negligent acts by someone. A person is negligent in relation to another person or persons when he has a duty to act as a reasonable person, he breaches that duty by doing something or failing to do something, and that breach was the proximate cause for someone else’s injury. As you are probably aware, common personal injury cases are vehicle wrecks, slips and falls, medical malpractice, and offshore injuries, to name only a few.

Car Accidents and Big Truck Wrecks

McComb, Mississippi personal injury lawyer John J. McNeil is experienced in all types of car wreck and big truck wrecks and injuries, whether they are from individual drivers or commercial trucks and businesses. Having experienced investigators prepared to look over the accident scene for reconstruction, or calling witnesses early on to get their best testimony are just a few of the methods we use to build the best case for the client. Whether the case is tried to a jury or settled, we are still working for the client to negotiate liens and outstanding bills. In our services section, we outline different hypothetical wreck situations, and what you need to do, and not do when a wreck happens.

Slips & Falls

This is an area that is often misunderstood. In Mississippi, if you are on someone else’s property, you are classified by the law as either a trespasser, a licensee, or an invitee. Knowing what you are classified as is important, since the duty of the business owner is different in relation to each. Proving fault on the property owner can be tricky at times; generally speaking, you must show they knew of the dangerous nature of the property, such as water left on the floor at a supermarket, or inadequate lighting at a stairwell, to list some examples.

Offshore Injuries

As a former offshore drilling worker, John J. McNeil has the inside knowledge that makes his representation more effective than others in this field. In our personal injury services section, we get into more detail about these cases, including the standard of proof, types of damages, jurisdiction, and maintenance and cure.

Worker’s Compensation

This is a law that allows someone who is injured while on the job to be paid compensation for his injury, or compensation to loved ones if there is a death. Unlike other areas of injury law, worker’s compensation should apply regardless of any fault of your own, subject to certain circumstances, such as horseplay or intentionally causing harm. Often, we find that notification of the injury to the employer is disputed by the employer, or more likely, the employer doesn’t agree with the significance of the injury to the employee. Therefore, it’s important for your attorney to have adequate experts who can testify to the extent of your injuries and your ability to work in the future.

Family and Custody Litigation

Family and custody fights are, unfortunately, unavoidable at times. In divorce and custody cases, your lawyer should be prepared to meet the standards the courts consider when awarding custody, alimony and support, and property division, and be prepared to thoroughly cross-examine the opposing party. Discovery is very important in these cases, and a prepared family law attorney should be prepared to take depositions and propound discovery to the opposing side. It is also important to have a good investigatory team in these cases.

Hiring a lawyer is a serious matter. You should take time to check out your prospective attorney. McComb Lawyer John J. McNeil has been helping people fight for their rights for over 13 years, and we know that results matter. Check out our client reviews, and feel free to contact us for background information. You may call (601) 783-5800, email us at mcneillawoffice@bellsouth.net, or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. Your initial consultation is confidential and free. Let Pike County Mississippi lawyer John J. McNeil take the lead.