COVID’s Impact on Bail Bonds in Michigan
Due to the types of cases that we defend we often find ourselves fighting for our clientsto either stay out of jail, or to get out of jail, at arraignment. It is incredibly difficult to convince a judge to release our clients especially if they had been previously represented by another attorney who was not […]
What To Do If You’re Under Investigation For Child Pornography in Michigan
Michigan takes sexual crimes seriously, and the consequences are even more severe when it comes to child pornography. Child pornography involves the production, receipt, possession, and or distribution of sexually depicted images of children under the age of 18 – all of which is illegal. If you’ve been caught with or accused of child pornography, the […]
The Movie Cuties in a World of Sexting, Social Media and Fitting In
Over the last week, my Facebook feed was flooded with controversy posts about the Netflix movie Cuties alongside hashtags of #savethechildren and #cancelnetflix. For anyone who has not heard of the movie, the story is about an 11-year old girl who becomes a part of a group of girls who eventually participate in a dance competition. They learn dance […]
Should I take my child to an interview at CARE House or a Child Advocacy Center (CAC)?
In Michigan, when a child makes an allegation of criminal sexual conduct, law enforcement and Child Protective Services should set up a forensic interview for the alleged victim at a child advocacy center. Child advocacy centers, including CARE House and Kids-TALK, are the physical centers where interviews take place. During the interviews, the law allows […]
Shannon Smith Receives the G. Terry Jackson Friend of the Constitution Award for Criminal Defense
Smith Blythe founding partner Shannon Smith has been awarded the G. Terry Jackson Friend of the Constitution Award by her peers in criminal defense at the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, she did not receive the award at the 2020 GACDL Winter Seminar, but rather received the beautiful trophy in her […]
“What it really means to be a defense lawyer”: Amanda Knox Interviews Smith Blythe attorneys about the Larry Nassar case
In January of 2018, Larry Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison after almost three decades as a clinical physician and doctor for the USA Gymnastics national team. He pled guilty to both charges of possession of child pornography and, more notably, 10 counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct. His attorneys at the time included Smith […]
Should I take a polygraph to prove my innocence?
Every week we get at least one phone call with the same question – “I have been accused of a crime, the police have asked me to take a polygraph….should I take the test to prove I’m innocent?” When it comes to police polygraphs there is not a hard and fast rule that people should follow […]
Convicted by the media long before your day in court
In the Court of public opinion and the media there are no rules of evidence, no burdens of proof, no cross examination – no questions and no answers. In emotionally charged cases such as the ones that we defend at Smith Lehman, P.C. our clients are often convicted in the media long before they ever have […]
Vouching Testimony in Child Criminal Sexual Conduct Trials
Sometimes watching trials of other defense lawyers can feel like watching nails on a chalkboard. This is particularly true when the prosecution plays dirty and the defense attorney does not catch on. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. You see, in a trial, no witness is allowed to comment on the credibility or lack of […]
Anatomy of a Murder Acquittal
Smith Blythe’s Mariell Lehman just secured a not guilty verdict for her client, Curtis Brown. That’s a rare thing in a case where there was no question our client pulled the trigger. Rarer still in a county where the police commissioner announced Curtis’ arrest with, “I can’t emphasize enough that when a crime of this […]