Fighting for Your Freedom, Reputation and Future – Jackson Criminal Lawyer

If you are driving after a night of celebration in Jackson, MS the sight of flashing red lights in the rearview mirror can quickly dissipate the festive mood and threaten your future.  Mississippi criminal defense attorney William Kellum III recognizes that the prospect of an arrest for felony or misdemeanor charges can cause turmoil in many facets of your life, including your career, family relationships and academic pursuits.  While we understand that the prospect of confronting the government in the criminal justice process might seem daunting, our proven Mississippi criminal defense law firm is founded on the principle of using all of our experience, legal knowledge and advocacy skills to keep our clients out of jail.

When an individual is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, a person can be subjected to severe penalties including incarceration, fines, probation, suspension of driving privileges, sex offender registration, participation in counseling, anger management classes, drug rehabilitation, community service, a criminal record and more.  While these penalties may seem harsh, they often represent only a few of the consequences of a criminal conviction.  Some of the more lasting impacts of being convicted of a criminal offense in Mississippi can include:

• Adverse impact on immigration status and benefits
• Denial of security clearances
• Disqualification from certain occupations and professional licenses
• Damage to one’s position in divorce or child custody disputes
• Harm to your career from a criminal record
• Restrictions on where you may live
• Denial of loans by creditors
• Potential expulsion, suspension or non-admittance to colleges
• Discovery of convictions by future landlords, neighbors, dating partners or others through an online background check
• Loss of constitutional rights including the right to bear arms

Tenacious Defense during Every Stage of Your Mississippi Criminal Case

Because a criminal conviction can haunt someone far into the future, Mr. Kellum diligently defends his clients from the time he is retained through the entire criminal justice process.  If our Jackson criminal defense law firm is retained prior to the filing of formal charges, we do not wait for you to be charged or the first court hearing to begin fighting for your reputation and future.  We will review police reports, forensic testing, search warrants, witness statements and other evidence to identify deficiencies in the prosecutor’s case.  While we aggressively pursue an acquittal or dismissal, sometimes the prosecutor can be persuaded not to file formal charges when we highlight substantial weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case.

Many prosecutors routinely file more serious charges or a greater number of charges than can be supported by the evidence.  This practice is used to intimidate a defendant by creating exposure to more serious penalties and longer periods in jail or prison.  Sometimes we can prevent the filing of formal charges or urge the prosecutor to accept a diversion option during this investigation phase.  Even if the prosecutor insist on moving forward with criminal charges, our tenacious early intervention might well mean less severe or fewer charges.

When our clients are formally charged, we diligently employ the full range of substantive and procedural defenses supported by the law and facts.  Our law firm works closely with forensic experts, private detectives and others to develop the most effective defense strategies.  Although the defenses applicable in your felony or misdemeanor criminal case will depend on the specific facts, some of the defenses that Mr. Kellum might employ include:

• Fourth Amendment Challenges (Unreasonable Search and Seizure): If the evidence that the prosecution plans to use in your case is obtained through an illegal search, Mr. Kellum may file a motion to suppress the evidence.  This motion also may include other evidence that would not have been discovered if not for the illegally obtained evidence.  There are many ways that a search can be unlawful, such as lack of probable cause, misrepresentation of the facts in a warrant application, reliance on an unsupported exception to the warrant requirement or an overly broad search.
• Challenging the Chain of Custody: When the police fail to properly document the handling of evidence, we will expose the violation of a chain of custody.  This may result in the evidence being excluded from use at trial.
• Exposing Unreliable Witnesses: We may use aggressive cross-examination or expert witnesses to establish the lack of reliability of an eyewitness.  Alternatively, we may use private investigators to uncover bias or motivations for witnesses to lie or distort the facts.
• Pre-Trial Motions: Mr. Kellum routinely files pre-trial motions to exclude evidence because its probative value does not outweigh unfair prejudice or for other reasons.

There are many other defenses that we may employ based on the facts of your unique situation and the crimes charged, including alibi, self-defense, lack of knowledge (drug possession), entrapment, intoxication (lack of mental state), excessive force, contamination of evidence and many others.

Asserting your Constitutional Rights to Protect Your Future

If you are stopped in your vehicle or on the street by a police officer, your decisions and actions in dealing with a law enforcement officer can have a dramatic impact on your outcome of your criminal case.  While you are required to produce identification, you should avoid talking to the officer without an attorney present.  Generally, a police officer will not provide a Miranda advisory of rights until after you have been arrested, but you should indicate you do not want to answer any questions without talking to an attorney even before you receive such a warning.  If you are arrested and questioned by an officer without an attorney, there will be no one to protect your rights and reign in inappropriate police tactics.

Whether you have been arrested or you are simply the target of a law enforcement investigation, you also should withhold consent to any search of your person, vehicle or residence.  While the officer may elect to conduct the search without your consent, Mr. Kellum may be able to seek exclusion of the evidence if the search did not meet legal requirements.  However, any legal defects regarding probable cause, the search warrant or the execution of the search can be cured by you providing consent.

Jackson criminal defense attorney William S. Kellum III represents clients in Jackson, Brandon, Clinton, Canton, Brookhaven, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Indianola, Madison, Meridian, Natchez, Pearl, Ridgeland, Vicksburg, Yazoo and other surrounding cities and areas.  We offer a free consultation so that we can explain your options and answer your questions so call us today at (601) 969-2709 or send us an email to schedule your initial consultation.  Call us today because we are ready to start fighting for your reputation, liberty and future.