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March 5, 2020
Not every relationship is smooth sailing. In fact, most of us have to go through some amount of disagreement while we figure out how to communicate with a partner in a romantic relationship. This is especially true when people are trying to figure out how to live together in a long-term domestic situation. While many couples are able to figure each other out over time, either on their own or with the help of couple’s therapy, this is not the case for every couple. Some situations end up devolving into domestic violence, where one partner abuses the other. In such cases, abused partners may elect to leave and seek protection under the law. This is where criminal protective orders come into play. What are they and how do they work? Is it difficult to obtain a protective order? Here are a few things you need to know if you find […]
August 27, 2019
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Clarke Newton, a lawyer with Bluestein Attorneys, has been named to the Leadership Columbia Class of 2020.
May 11, 2018
As the opioid crisis continues to unfold across the country, South Carolina has seen a devastating increase of overdose-related hospitalizations and deaths over the past few years. According to SC DHEC, deaths caused by overdoses numbered about 550 in 2016, showing an increase of nearly 20% in just two years. As the United States begins to reckon with the long-term effects of prescription drug abuse and opioid addiction, we have also seen increasing situations where witnesses to an opioid overdose don’t call for help until it’s too late because they are worried about being charged with a crime themselves. Can a friend or loved one safely call 911 for someone overdosing, without getting into legal trouble? Does South Carolina have a Good Samaritan law regarding drug overdoses? Let’s take a look at how Good Samaritan laws in South Carolina work, what they cover, and what to do if you witness someone who […]
April 20, 2018
The recent prison riot at Lee Correctional Institute in Bishopville seems to have begun as a dispute over gang territory and contraband like cell phones. It ended with seven inmates dead and seventeen more injured, after a staff of forty-four guards found themselves trying to maintain order in a prison that houses nearly 1,600 men. The riot and its aftermath exposed a serious problem with understaffing in both South Carolina prisons and in the prison system nationwide. Some prisoners’ rights activists like those at the National Action Network have asserted that the prisoners’ right to safety was violated by the circumstances that led to last week’s riot. We’ve heard more than a few people ask: Do prisoners have rights? What can a prisoner or their family do if they feel their civil rights were violated?
October 6, 2017
When most people think about white collar crime, two or three big-name, headline-making cases likely come to mind. The Enron debacle and the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme often top the list. Most white collar criminals don’t end up on the cover of the New York Times, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still a common concern, both for individuals and for businesses. What counts as white collar crime in South Carolina? What sort of repercussions would someone convicted of white collar crime face? Let’s take a look.
September 8, 2017
Some serious changes are coming for South Carolina’s drug possession laws. New legislation aimed at addressing the growing opioid and heroin epidemic is making its way through the State House and Senate, and the South Carolina Attorney General is in the process of suing the maker of Oxycontin, one of the most well-known opioids on the market, for alleged deceptive marketing practices. The Attorney General cites Purdue Pharma “downplaying the addictive quality” of the drug as one of the main alleged deceptions. The State House and Senate aren’t waiting for the outcome of the lawsuit, however: a slate of bills were introduced as early as February by a group of Republican state lawmakers intended to address the opioid epidemic from a legislative point of view. We’ll take a look at a few of these bills, and how they could affect prescription drug possession laws in South Carolina.
January 4, 2017
More than 1.1 million car crashes in 2013 involved the use of cell phones while driving, according to the National Safety Council. The numbers have only risen in the last couple of years, with the latest figures reading at about 1.6 million, with more than 330,000 injuries. Many of these crashes involve texting while driving, and states all throughout the nation have begun to take steps to address this growing concern. While there are as of yet no federal laws on the books outright outlawing cell phone use while driving, individual states, counties, and even local municipalities have all passed their own laws and ordinances. What should you do if you’re pulled over for texting while driving in South Carolina? Let’s take a look at the facts.
December 28, 2016
New Year’s Eve is the one the biggest days of the year for parties. Whether you’re heading out on the town or to a friend’s house, hosting your own gathering, or you’re the type to curl up with a mug of tea and watch the ball drop at midnight, it’s important to stay safe and know your rights. What are your rights if the police come to your home? We have a short list of information you need to know.
November 21, 2016
As the prescription drug abuse crisis continues to grow nationwide, men and women across the country (as well as here in South Carolina) are arrested and charged in greater numbers for unlawful possession of prescription drugs. Laws on drugs, whether on simple possession or more complex issues like intent to distribute, are generally codified by the states. This means that laws on possession in California are likely to be very different than those here in South Carolina. Today, we’ll take a look at South Carolina’s laws surrounding possession of prescription drugs and what could happen if you are caught ingesting or in possession of these drugs without a doctor’s prescription.