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The Super Bowl is upon us, and once again, the Seattle Seahawks are one game away from claiming their first Super Bowl Championship. Although this is my first experience living in a city with world championship possibilities (I'm from Kansas), I've seen enough celebrations (and letdowns) to have a decent idea of what's going to happen on Sunday after the game. And, while going out and rioting sounds fun now, and it will probably sound even more fun after a few cocktails, I want to make sure you participate in a way that keeps you out of the cross hairs of the law (although I'm a Seattle criminal attorney I would rather people stayed out of trouble). Six Tips to Participate in the Super Bowl Riot but Avoid Jail To help you out, Stryder and I made a little video for you. Enjoy! [leadplayer_vid id="52EABBAC5778F"] Here are some of the high points: 00:20 Tip Number 1: enjoy the atmosphere, but don't tip over cars. 00:38 Tip Number 2: leave your weapons at home. 00:49 Tip Number 3: make sure you have all of your Seahawks gear on! 01:25 Tip Number 4: smoke your pot in your house. 01:45 Tip Number 5: don't forget that Seattle is OUR city! 01:53 What to do if you don't follow these tips and you wind up in trouble. What are Your Plans if We Win? If we win, are you going to riot or lay low? Going to take to the streets or bask in the glow of victory at home? Let us know by leaving a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.Christopher Small is the co-founder of Emerald City Law Group, a Seattle criminal defense firm dedicated to getting you out of trouble.

Jackie & Bender’s Ask a Lawyer You know you’ve reached great heights as a criminal lawyer when someone on the radio wants to speak to you. That happened today for Stryder Wegener, my business partner, and myself. We were asked to appear on a morning radio show called Jackie & Bender. The show is live every morning on KISS 106.1 FM. Every Thursday they do a segment called “Ask a …” and the call in different people to pepper them with questions. Today the topic was “ask a criminal lawyer.” They wanted someone that knew what they were talking about so they asked us. We were on for 20 minutes, answered several questions, and had a great time. If you want to hear everything that went down watch the video below or click to listen to the audio. [leadplayer_vid id="52A1168A22EEA"] Highlights: 01:15 Morality of being a criminal lawyer. 03:40 How do you defend someone you know is guilty? 05:30 Jackie’s brush with the law. 05:50 Our thoughts on the Amanda Knox trial. 08:00 Have you ever defended someone you knew was guilty and you got them off. 09:00 What do you do when you don’t have much to work with. 10:12 Ever been confronted by a victim’s family? 12:10 Do prosecutor’s call you names? 12:45 How much of Law and Order is crap? 13:49 When you watch a high profile case, do you see what he’s doing and where he’s going? 15:12 Is a mutual combatant law legal in Washington State? 16:15 If drunk and fighting, do you get charged for being drunk or for fighting? 17:10 Is Stryder your real name? The Morality of Being a Criminal Lawyer I became a criminal lawyer because I thought it would be fun and I think it’s awesome to be able to help people get out of trouble. Many people outside of the criminal defense community (probably even yourself) question how people can defend people they know are guilty. The truth of the matter is, I don’t care if my clients are guilty. I’m not in charge of deciding whether or not that is the case. I have one job – to do whatever I can, within the rules, to get my clients the best outcomes for their cases. Does that mean I’m sometimes a hired gun? Yes it does. But I think a more apt analogy is that of a very expensive janitor. You make a mess and hire me to clean it up. What do You do When You Don’t Have Much to Work With Sometimes you are up a shit creek without a paddle. Someti

By: Christopher Small Arrested and charged for drug possession just because you were in a car or house were drugs were found? Find out how that can happen and what you can do about it here. [leadplayer_vid id="52604FFDD2393"] Highlights: 00:24 – How most of our clients with drug charges get in trouble. 00:40 – Actual possession of drugs defined. 00:50 – Constructive possession defined. 01:15 – What the cops have to prove to make you guilty of constructively possessing drugs. You Can Beat Drug Possession Charges with the Right Seattle Criminal Lawyer I can’t tell you how many times people have come into our office charged with drug possession when they had no idea drugs were even around them. What typically happens is a person is in a car or in a house and the cops show up, for whatever reason, and drugs are found. Instead of doing actual police work and figuring out whose drugs they are, they just charge everyone with drug possession. This is called constructive possession, and if you’re not careful, you can get popped for it. What is Constructive Possession? Constructive possession is a fancy way of saying “you had total control over the car, or the house, so by default, you had possession of the drugs.” The legal word for this is dominion and control. As you might expect, as is always the case when facts are hazy, there is no specific definition of dominion and control – it’s evaluated on a case by case basis. Translated, this means the court has full control to look at all of the facts and, in your specific case, find that you exercised dominion and control over the premises and refuse to dismiss the case. How to Beat a Drug Possession Charge where Constructive Possession is an Issue This is what we would do. First, we need to define what possession is. Possession simply means having a substance in one’s custody or control. Possession may be either actual or constructive. Actual possession occurs when the item is in the actual physical custody of the person charged with possession. Constructive possession occurs when there is no actual physical possession but there is dominion and control over the substance. Second, we need to differentiate between possession and proximity. Possession requires having control over the d

By: Christopher Small In this first episode of the podcast I talk expose the myth of beating an assault charge when the victim recants (or at least expose that it’s not as easy as one thinks). [leadplayer_vid id="52588A650A64C"] Highlights: 00:25 – What the prosecutor has to prove to convict you of assault. 00:57 – If the victim doesn’t want to testify can you beat an assault charge? 01:20 – How 911 tapes can hurt your defense. 01:50 – How other witnesses can take the place of the victim in trial. 02:42 – Why you should never talk to the cops. Ever. A Recanting Victim can Get Your Assault Case Dismissed, but Not Always There is a belief out there that if you are charged with assault simply getting the victim to change their story, say they don’t want to testify, or not show up to court will get the case dismissed. While in some cases that may be true, in others it isn’t true at all. I wanted to take this opportunity to point out some of those times when that situation won’t work so you don’t find yourself in a sticky situation. It is Not the Victim’s Choice Whether or Not You are Prosecuted One thing people seem to believe is that the victim in a crime gets to decide whether or not the prosecution actually goes forward. This is not true. While the victim’s wishes may have an effect on the outcome of the case, the prosecutor is the one who gets to decide what is charged and who is charged. There are Other Ways the Prosecutor Can Convict You of Assault Assault cases are not like most other cases. Usually they don’t happen in front of the cops (like a DUI, for example). In some cases the only people present when the incident happens are the victim and the defendant. For those reasons, the evidence against someone charged with assault can be limited. But often it does exist. I’m talking about things like 911 tapes, other witnesses, and the statements of the defendant themselves. In this Episode I Talk About: Why getting an assault case dismissed isn’t as easy as you think; The easiest way to ensure your case turns out the way you want; Why changing stories isn’t always a good thing; and Much much more! Right click here to download the MP3 Items Mentioned in this podcast: No links this week! Question or Feedback? Leave Me a Voicemail! If you