SmithWilliams, PLLC

03/04/2019

SERVED 6 MONTHS: SmithWilliams, PLLC was pleased to assist our client following his arrest by federal authorities for a violation of 18 USC 924(a)(2) – Unlawful Drug User in Possession of a Firearm, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of 5 years of incarceration. Following successful negotiations with the United States and a persuasive sentencing mitigation campaign, our client served six months in a low security federal correctional camp followed by six months of home detention. After serving a six month sentence, our client was able to find gainful employment while on home detention. (United States v. K.D.; 3:17-cr-001)

02/04/2019

SUPPRESSION LEADS TO DISMISSAL: In May 2015, a fatal shooting occurred in St. John, USVI. No arrests were immediately made. In October 2015, our client was stopped while driving his vehicle as the result of a citizen's arrest alleging that our client had threatened the complainant. This led to the Police conducting an inventory search of his vehicle. During the inventory search, police recovered a loaded firearm. Other counsel moved to suppress the evidence based on an invalid arrest and the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine. The Court granted suppression.

The firearm was later tied to the fatal shooting. The People filed First Degree Murder Charges against our client and moved to introduce the suppressed firearm from the unrelated Disturbing the Peace case. The People argued the gun could be used in the Murder case solely for purposes of establishing identity pursuant to Virgin Islands Rules of Evidence. SmithWilliams successfully opposed the People's motion while simultaneously preparing for trial. Ultimately, the case was dismissed on the eve of trial due to a lack of evidence. (People v. R.W., ST-16-cr-31)

02/04/2019

BOAT CAPTAIN ACQUITTED AND FREED! The evidence generally showed that James Springette owned a co***ne growing operation in Colombia and sent thousands of kilograms of co***ne to the United States through Tortola and St. Thomas using specialized airplanes and powerboats. Boat crews sailed from Tortola to St. Thomas and then secreted the co***ne onto commercial airplanes.

The United States charged our client with operating one of the speed boats which would travel from Tortola to St. Thomas, allegedly laden with kilograms of co***ne. Following a jury trial, the District Court Judge granted our client's Motion for Acquittal. The Court concluded that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient for a rational jury to infer that our client was engaged in some kind of illicit behavior and knew that ‘some form of contraband’ was involved in the scheme in which he was participating. However, the government was obliged to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that our client had knowledge of the particular illegal objective contemplated by the conspiracy.” In granting our client's motion for acquittal, the Court concluded that the inferences of conspiracy were “too slim a reed upon which to hang a criminal conspiracy conviction.” (United States v. W.E. et al., 3:06-cr-80)

02/04/2019

COMPLETE ACQUITTAL for Petite Martinique fisherman charged with Conspiracy Aboard a Vessel to Import Co***ne. The United States alleged that our client, a young man who had never before left the shores of his tiny island, conspired with four (4) others to possess with intent to distribute more than five (5) kilograms of co***ne. After deliberations, the jury acquitted our client of all charges. (United States v. K.J. et al., 3:11-cr-37)

01/04/2019

DISMISSED IN ADVANCE OF ARRAIGNMENT! Following a well-publicized public assault in March, 2019, SmithWilliams' client was arrest for Assault with a Deadly Weapon. SmithWilliams worked zealously with prosecutors to demonstrate the alleged victim's account was fraudulent. Our fast work saved our client time, money, and his job! (People v. T.M., ST-19-cr-71)

01/04/2019

ACQUITTED OF ALL GUN AND DRUG CHARGES! On November 16, 2018, a jury returned a not guilty verdict for our client who was charged with multiple crimes including two counts of Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, one count of Possession of Unauthorized Possession of Ammunition and a single count of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. After deliberations the jury found our client NOT GUILTY of the weapons and ammunition charges. The Court then entered a judgment of acquittal as to the controlled substance charge. SmithWilliams also succeeded in having our client's illegally confiscated currency returned to him. (People v. U.S. ST-17-cr-27)

01/04/2019

DISMISSED! After 28 months behind bars awaiting trial on more than 10 felony charges, including First Degree Murder, SmithWilliams, PLLC celebrated with our client on Friday, March 22, 2019 upon the dismissal of his case. People v. T.S. (ST-16-cr-377).

02/08/2017

JUST 3 HOURS OF DELIBERATION! SmithWilliams, PLLC was pleased to have assisted our client achieve a complete acquittal of all eight felony counts with which he was charged.

https://twitter.com/VI_Source/status/892855149097562112

“Jury Acquits Troy Titley in McDonald’s Case https://t.co/ORDojTFBCy”

19/06/2016

Summer is upon us and with summer comes thoughts of travel, water, fun and play. We know you constantly ask yourself, "Are my loved ones safe?" SmithWilliams, PLLC asks, "Are your ducks in a row?" Protect yourself, your family and your assets before you travel and play this summer with an Essential Estate Plan from Attorneys Carl R. Williams and Sarah Smith Williams. Free consultation; personalized service and special summer pricing.

27/04/2016

It has been reported that the intrepid artist Prince left no will or testamentary instructions in any form according to documents filed in probate court on April 26, 2016 in Minnesota, where the pop-music icon died suddenly last week at the age of 57.

The petition was filed by Prince's sister who is acting as the estate's self-appointed executrix. Prince left no surviving spouse, no children and no parents. Besides his sister, he is survived by a number of half-brothers and half-sisters, who were named in the petition as "interested parties." Prince's sister is asking the probate court to recognize her authority to act on behalf of Prince's estate. The petition states that at the time of Prince's death, he had "substantial assets consisting of personal and real property that requires protection." He "owned and controlled business interests that require ongoing management and supervision." And he "has heirs whose identities and addresses need to be determined."

When someone dies intestate, without a will, a probate court takes over the administration of the decedent's estate and distribution of assets. Without a will or trust there is no way to know for certain what Prince's actual wishes were; whether he trusted his sister to act on his behalf and fulfill his wishes, or whether he would have wished to include his half brothers and sisters as beneficiaries. When there is no will, state laws on inheritance prevail. In Minnesota, for instance, half-siblings are treated the same as full siblings for the purposes of inheritance.

The petition further alleges that an emergency exists because "immediate action and decisions need to be made to continue the ongoing management and supervision of Prince's business interests; and because the names and addresses of all interested parties are currently unknown."

Prince's former manager, Owen Husney, said he would have expected Prince to have drawn up a will and an estate plan long ago. Husney said Prince was too smart to have overlooked something that crucial and he had teams of lawyers, business managers and accountants over the years who would have advised him it was crucial. However, Husney did not state that he knew for certain that Prince had created an estate plan.

SmithWilliams, PLLC predicts a long drawn-out battle for the estate which has been estimated between 300 and 500 million dollars. It is unfortunately all too common to expect people to be coming out of the woodwork in the coming weeks and months alleging they are siblings or somehow otherwise entitled to a piece of Prince's estate. Each claim, credible or not, will serve to delay the administration and distribution of the estate.

May the uncertainty created by Prince's passing serve as the impetus for SmithWilliams' clients to consider forming an estate plan this week. An estate is comprised of everything someone owns — a car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, personal possessions. No matter how large or how modest, everyone has an estate and without a plan, there is simply no telling how your assets will be divided when you pass unless you have left specific instructions to ensure your wishes are carried out. If you don’t have a plan, the Virgin Islands has one for you, but you probably won’t like it.

Given the choice—and you do have the choice—wouldn’t you prefer these matters be handled privately by your family, not by the courts? Wouldn’t you prefer to keep control of who receives what and when? And, if you have young children, wouldn’t you prefer to have a say in who will raise them if you can’t?

With a SmithWilliams estate plan you can be confident that your wishes will be fulfilled as you direct, providing you with the control and steady hand your family will appreciate at your passing. Please contact us today to discuss the services we can provide you.

05/04/2016

U.S. Virgin Islands Governor vetoes DNA Testing Law

Governor Kenneth Mapp has vetoed the Novelle Francis-sponsored bill that sought to mandate DNA testing on persons merely charged for felony, misdemeanor sexual assault and violent crimes stating that the bill “runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment, and in its entirety, does not comport with the standard approved in Maryland v. King, 133 S. Ct. 1958 (2013).”

In recent days V.I. Attorney General Claude Walker, who had initially supported the bill, reconsidered his position, determining the bill exceeded the parameters approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Governor Mapp however, did invite the bill's sponsors to meet with Attorney General Walker to discuss amendments to the bill in an effort to fashion a statute which would survive an attack on its constitutionality before the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.

02/03/2016

U.S. Virgin Islands Senate Passes DNA Testing Law

A bill sponsored by Senator Novelle Francis and approved by the USVI Senate on February 26th now awaits action from Governor Mapp. The bill, #31-0260, would require every person charged with a felony, violent crime or misdemeanor sexual offense in the Territory to surrender a DNA sample to the government for testing and inclusion in a DNA data bank. The bill dramatically expands the existing law which was enacted in 2010 and endorsed by then Police Commissioner Novelle Francis. The current law authorizes the government to only take DNA samples if a person is convicted of a crime of violence or any sexual offense.

If Governor Mapp signs the new bill into law, there will certainly be a legal challenge that the law is a violation of the U.S. Constitution's protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

The United States Supreme Court took up a similarly enacted law in 2013 captioned Maryland v. King which involved a man, King, who was arrested on a weapons charge. The state of Maryland swabbed his cheek as part of its routine booking procedure. The results linked King to a r**e a decade earlier. Ultimately, King was tried, convicted and sentenced to life without parole on the r**e charge.

The case was narrowly decided on a 5-4 vote, but not on the usual ideological lines. Conservative Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito were joined by Stephen Breyer in the majority opinion, upholding the law. The very conservative Antonin Scalia, who recently passed away, wrote the minority dissent, joined by more liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Scalia wrote that the there was no disagreement that it was permissible to take DNA from someone after they were convicted.

"So the ironic result of the court’s error is this: The only arrestees to whom the outcome here will ever make a difference are those who have been acquitted of the crime of arrest (so that their DNA could not have been taken upon conviction). In other words, this act manages to burden uniquely the sole group for whom the Fourth Amendment’s protections ought to be most jealously guarded: people who are innocent of the state’s accusations," argued Scalia.

Should Governor Mapp sign this bill into law, there is no doubt that defendants charged but not convicted of qualifying crimes will appeal the constitutionality of the law to the Virgin Islands Supreme Court.