Louisville Criminal Defense Lawyer


Below will be a series of statutes that are newly updated.  In most situations the annotated portion of the law will accompany the statute.   The annotated portion, or the cases that are defining the words and meaning of the statutes, really create the true definition of the statute.  Without going into legal training, statutes are written, passed through the legislature and ultimately signed into law by the executive branch.  The plain meaning of the statute, as it is written in black and white, only creates a starting point.  A statute will then take on new meaning as different parties appeal trial cour'st decisions, both district and circuit court.  As the years go on the law is there, having new cases for appeal tendered and the law as written, in black in white, inevitably is a distant relative at best, of the law it was when first enacted.  

How each page of my website works, normally.  1.  Introduce the topic of the page, 2. Talk from a few sentences to a few paragraphs in regards to area of law, my experience with the law and what the affect of these decisions area the law at the instant time.  

The Law, Reality and Pet Peeves based upon Rumors 
Louisville Attorney with Fun Facts about Kentucky and the Commonwealth

Commonwealth Picked it Up: This is a Commonwealth State: Commonwealth Defense Attorney Pet Peeves. 


Firearm crimes and handgun charges lead to a lot of arrests. Our Louisville Firearms Louisville Criminal Defense Attorney can help with bond or anything else in Louisville, and surrounding counties.   

After arrest if your case was dismissed in District Court because of an officer's inability to show up or other evidentiary issues the next step is indictment. An indictment is a charging document resulting from the submission of a case to the grand jury. This is a one sided, or ex-parte proceeding. The Criminal Defense Attorney is not invited nor is the defendant. If they want you indicted then it will happen. Hence the saying, "they could indict a ham sandwich." 


If an indictment ensues AFTER a district court dismissal without prejudice then the Commonwealth successfully "picked it up." The case went up, or up the elevators. The "up" and "up the elevators" reference is describing the courts physical situation. In Oldham County, District Court resides on the first floor of the municipal building in LaGrange. Circuit Court resides on the 3rd floor of the same building. The cases literally went up (presented to the Grand Jury, , and probably did take the elevator. This up and down analogy is true in many jurisdictions. Higher Courts have always been held to mean courts who cannot accept appeals from other courts, lower courts. "The Supreme Court is the highest court in America." So, if new buildings are made Circuit, or a states felony jurisdictional courts are usually physically above district courts, or misdemeanor courts.   


Just understand / kind of a pet peeve: I hear this all the time. "I already know. Kentucky is a Commonwealth and will throw the book at you." I am hearing this too much and it is driving me crazy. Kentucky is a Commonwealth State, just like Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts. The term Commonwealth really translates to the word "State" today and since the inception of its name. It is politically based, surprise, and was just these states determination to use the word "commonwealth" so close to the War of Independence. Like every other commonwealth and state, Kentucky's criminal law is reduced to statutes further defined by caselaw. There is no difference between Commonwealths and States in the Union. 


Most people in the process of being arrested or those whose property is being searched for illegal substances or crime evidence are thinking about a lawyer. They are not thinking about a particular lawyer, but in their mind the best attorney. It would be interesting to see the image of an attorney imagined by the person being arrested or whose property is being searched. I bet they envision an attorney that resembles a superhero. Their superhero lawyer would be the best criminal lawyer and best criminal trial attorney in Louisville, Oldham County and the world! An attorney who could swoop down to the location of the arrest and carry him off. Or, an attorney who could appear during the search and seizure and foil probable cause, setting them free. 

 

Everyone wants to feel safe, to discuss their problems, and to know where they are and where they are going. Since superheroes don't exist people accused of crimes do what everyone else does and hire an attorney. If they have not settled for an attorney somewhere along the way, then they will ultimately find me! 

Louisville Legal Defense Attorney

Kentucky Statutes and Cases:  State and Federal

Useful Kentucky Statutes:
Need the law with annotations?  Ask, I'll send. 

My Goal:


McLeod Law's goal is obtain the level of sharpest pretrial Defense and all the other "life" going on before your charges.

We identify the issues and resolve them. My grandfather told me that I would realize some day how to identify certain people that were "more heat than light." 

He commented once that talking to this particular gentleman on the phone was like "trying to nail jello to the wall." Further, he stated that trying to explain the most basic of concepts was distant and he felt the guy was asking him to "describe the color purple." 

He rarely said the same thing twice, but these three quotes I remember, as well as, hundreds more. They are life lessons in context. 

When identifying the issues, trust that we will know who is more heat than light. That some people aren't going to ever listen and even others will never get it no matter how many times you explain it. 

We get it. We will get your situation, as a normal person going through life and its stressors and you, our client, who has a temporary issue that we will resolve. 

It is representing people with "life" going on all around you and you have to deal with it all. We are the best at this and at criminal defense and criminal defense trials. 

Let us help and take the anxiety out of the situation. -Brendan McLeod