Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Felony Crimes:
Felony Crimes involve drug and narcotics charges, arson, burglary, armed robbery, murder and/or attempted murder, rape and/or sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault and battery. A felony conviction is a serious matter that can result in a substantial state prison sentence and the potential loss of certain privileges and Constitutional rights of U.S. citizenship, such as the right to possess a firearm or the right to vote.

Misdemeanors:
Misdemeanors are more serious than petty offenses, but much less serious than felonies. Misdemeanors typically result in imposition of such punishments as a fine or a jail sentence not exceeding a year. If a jail sentence is imposed, it is served at a local, city or county jail rather than a state or federal prison (penitentiary). In many jurisdictions and in certain types of cases defendants who can't afford an attorney are not entitled to a court-appointed attorney in a misdemeanor case. Unlike felonies, misdemeanors are usually handled by special courts with abbreviated procedures, such as a city court or municipal court.

Serious Violent Crimes and Murder:
By definition, a violent crime is a behavior by persons, against persons or property that intentionally threatens, attempts or actually inflicts physical harm. The seriousness of the injuries to the victim(s), whether or not guns or other weapons were used and/or whether or not the alleged perpetrator has a criminal record will determine the seriousness of the charge. Most violent crimes are considered felonies and are subject to be considered a "strike" in a state that has adopted three strikes laws. Violent criminal charges can include: aggravated assault, arson, assault and battery, domestic violence, hate crimes, homicide, larceny, rape, manslaughter, mayhem and murder.

One of the most serious areas of violent crime is homicide - killing a person, whether lawfully or unlawfully. Justifiable homicide and excusable homicide are lawful homicides, while criminal homicide, negligent homicide, reckless homicide and vehicular homicide are unlawful homicides. Unlawful homicide comprises the two crimes of murder and manslaughter.

Burglary and Robbery:
Burglary is defined as the unlawful entering of a building with intent to commit a felony or to steal valuable property.  Robbery is also a specific intent crime, requiring both theft and a form of violence or threat of violence used to deprive someone of their property.  A common example of a robbery is a convenience store holdup, wherein a robber threatens to shoot a cashier unless the cashier hands over money.

Forgery:
Forgery is defined as a false signature, written document or material alteration made with intent to defraud. Documents that can be the object of forgery include contracts, identification cards, and legal certificates.

Internet Crime:
Internet crime is defined as any illegal activity involving one or more components of the Internet such as websites, chat rooms and/or email. Internet crime involves the use of the Internet to communicate false or fraudulent representations to consumers. These crimes may include, but are not limited to, advance-fee schemes, non-delivery of goods or services, computer hacking, phishing, pharming, programming worms, viruses or employment/business opportunity schemes.

Sex Crimes:
Sex crimes can include such charges as: Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Date Rape, Failure to register (as a Sex Offender), Indecent Exposure, Internet Porn, Lewd Conduct, Marital Rape, Molestation, Obscenity, Pedophilia, Pornography, Prostitution, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Sodomy and Statutory Rape. Many sex crimes are considered felonies and require convicted defendants to continually register themselves as publicly recognized sex offenders with the local and state authorities where they live and work. Charges of sexual misconduct carry extremely serious penalties and these crimes are commonly punished more severely than any other crime except murder. Sexual misconduct is seldom witnessed by anyone other than the accuser and accused and the risk of conviction of an innocent person is drastically higher in these cases.

Drunk Driving:
Drunk Driving occurs when someone is operating, or is in actual physical control, of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other controlled substance to the extent that their mental faculties are impaired and/or their blood alcohol content (BAC) is above the legal limit. Even for a first offense, penalties can include license suspension, substantial fines, community service, mandatory attendance at a state or DMV approved alcohol program, mandatory overnight incarceration and the required installation (at the offender's expense) of a car ignition locking device. In addition, a Drunk Driving conviction stays on a DMV record for several years, it typically results in higher insurance premiums, and an offender may become ineligible for credit.

Drugs and Narcotics Charges:
Drugs and Narcotics laws have tried to keep up with the changing perceptions and real dangers of substance abuse. By 1970, over 55 federal drug laws and countless state laws specified a variety of punitive measures, including life imprisonment and even the death penalty. To clarify the situation, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 repealed, replaced, or updated all previous federal laws concerned with narcotics and all other dangerous drugs.

Most states have laws that give different treatment to possession of different categories of drugs (i.e. prescription drugs, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine), and also make a distinction in the offense charged as to whether a small amount of the drug was found with the defendant (personal use) or a larger amount (intent to sell or distribute, trafficking). A conviction on a drug charge of any magnitude, even a small amount of marijuana, can seriously affect your present and future employment chances, your education, your reputation and your freedom.

Domestic Violence:
Domestic violence is any physical, emotional, sexual or other violence that takes place between people who may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating. Domestic violence can be criminal and include physical assault: hitting, pushing and shoving, etc., sexual abuse: unwanted or forced sexual activity, and stalking. Domestic violence charges can have a serious impact on your life.

White Collar Crimes:
High-tech professionals, corporate executives and clergy who are criminally charged for offenses such as corporate theft, counterfeiting, embezzlement, forgery, hacking, fraud, tax evasion or bad checks are often referred to as "white collar" offenders and are prosecuted for white collar crimes. In some cases, first-time offenders are convicted and sent to prison, even with no prior criminal history. An arrest and conviction for one of these crimes can have a serious impact on your life.

Expungement Motions:
An Expungement of your record results in the extraction and isolation of all records on file with any court correctional facility or law enforcement agency. The records that are expunged include complaints, warrants, arrests reports, commitments, criminal history records, fingerprints and your rap sheet.

Contrary to popular belief, your record is not automatically cleared or expunged with the passage of time. Even if you were never found guilty, an arrest is not expunged unless a court grants your Expungement petition. State statutes impose application guidelines and waiting periods for various types of arrests and convictions. The guidelines provide instruction for what can be expunged and set forth certain specific types of offenses that cannot. The guidelines also impose waiting periods that are calculated from the completion of the sentence imposed by the court.

It is important to note that an Expungement does not destroy records; it extracts and isolates the records. Under most circumstances, once an Expungement has been granted those records cannot be disclosed. A person who has been granted an Expungement can respond that he or she has no conviction when asked a question about having a criminal record. Exceptions to this rule include a person seeking a second Expungement, a person seeking a conditional discharge, and a person seeking to obtain employment in law enforcement.

What to bring to a consultation:

• A copy of all papers pertaining to your arrest(s);
• A copy of all court papers pertaining to the disposition of the charge(s) you want expunged; and,
• A copy of any report pertaining to the completion of any probationary or diversionary treatment program.

Appellate and Post Conviction:
In an appeal, an appellate court reviews the record of the pre-trial and trial proceedings for legal errors. The record includes the court file, the court reporter's transcript and the evidence and exhibits introduced in the trial court. In general, an appellate court does not consider information that is not contained in the record.

A post-conviction petition is the general name for what is called a "collateral attack" on a conviction. In federal court, they are called habeas corpus petitions. By using a post-conviction petition, a defendant generally can bring evidence before the reviewing court that was not part of the record on appeal, and in this way raise issues that would otherwise not be reviewed.

If you or someone you know needs the skilled legal representation of an experienced Memphis Criminal lawyer, call Clifton Harviel today at 866-603-4841, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule a free consultation.

Verdicts & Settlements

United States v. William Holland, et al,

Mr. Holland was indicted for smuggling schedule III drugs from Mexico to Memphis and distributing them. He admitted this conduct and pled guilty. In the same indictment he was also charged with causing the death of a young lady and abusing her corpse, which was found on the backseat of Mr. Holland’s jeep. Mr. Holland denied these charges and went to trial. The jury found Mr. Holland not guilty.

United States v. Montez Day, et al,
942 F.2d 354 (Cir. 6^th 1991)

Housemates Mr. Day and Mr. Poindexter were each charges with possession of drugs found in a film canister received from a medicine cabinet in the common bathroom. During the trial, Attorney Harviel asked law enforcement whether or not the film canister has been fingerprinted. The officer responded that it had been. There was no proof in the record concerning whose prints were found. During closing argument, the District Court Judge precluded Attorney Harviel’s use of the argument that if they had the defendant’s prints, they would show them to you, so they must not have them. The Federal Court of Appeals reversed and held that the mosaic of evidence that comprises the record before a jury includes both the evidence and the lack of evidence on material matters.

King v. Steward
05-6803 (Cir. 6^th 2008)

Mr. King was convicted in State Court of especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery and felony murder. The State Court sentenced him to life. Once he exhausted his State Court remedies, he filed a pro se habeas corpus. The District Court dismissed Mr. King’s pro se petition, however, the Circuit Court appointed Attorney Harviel to review the case. On appeal, the Circuit Court reversed the District Court dismissal, holding that the District Court must review the entire State Court transcript before it may dismiss a habeas corpus petition.

United States v. Fred Collier, et al,
02-CR-20165 (West. Dist. TN)

Mr. Collier was indicted as the number two man in a $101,000,000.00 mail/wire fraud case involving 16 different countries. After reviewing the evidence against him with Attorney Harviel, Mr. Collier chose to plead guilty and cooperated with the prosecution, including testifying at trial for the Government. Mr. Collier was sentenced to 1 year of probation, a $1000.00 fine and a $100.00 special assessment.

United States v. Mendoza, et al,
96-CR-20148 (West. Dist. TN)

Ms. Mendoza was stopped on the interstates as she drove through Memphis from Texas. 255 pounds of powdered cocaine was found in the trunk of the car she was driving. She was stopped for improper display of out of state tags. When the officer realized the tags were properly displayed, he tried to take all of copies of the ticket, put them back together and add a charge of speeding. Using a forensic document examiner, the defense was able to show the ticket had been altered after the fact, thereby destroying the officer’s credibility and resulting in pretrial dismissal of all charges.

If you or someone you know needs the skilled legal representation of an experienced Memphis Criminal lawyer, call Clifton Harviel today at 866-603-4841, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule a free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Harviel Law Office
50 North Front Street, Suite 850
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 866-603-4841
Hours: M-F, 8:00AM-5:00PM
Services provided after-hours

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Attorney T. Clifton Harviel

• Jurisdictions Attorney is Licensed in: United States Supreme Court, Federal Courts of Appeals for; Fifth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Eighth Circuit, and Eleventh Circuit, United Sates District Court Western District of Tennessee, United States District Court Eastern District of Tennessee, Tennessee Supreme Court as well as all lower Tennessee Courts.
• Date Admitted to the Bar: 1977
• Colleges Attended, Degree & Year Graduated: University of Memphis, College of Education, B.S., 1972; University of Memphis, School of Law, J.D., 1976; University of Houston, National College for Criminal Defense Certificate, 1983; University of Wyoming, Western Trial Advocacy Institute Certificate, 1992; Union of Cuban Jurists (Havana, Cuba), Short course in Cuban Legal System Certificate, 2001; University of Leiden (The Hague Netherlands), ICC Training Course for Criminal Defense Lawyers Certificate, 2003.
• Professional Memberships & Achievements: Life Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Life Member, Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Life Member, Memphis/Shelby County Bar Association.
• Length of time Firm has been Together: I have been in this solo private practice for 10 years. Prior to that I was an Assistant Federal Defender for the Western District of Tennessee for 17 years, a Shelby County Public Defender for 3 years, a Memphis City Public Defender for 3 years including a year as Chief Public Defender of Memphis and an Assistant Shelby County Attorney General for 120 days.