With experience as an assistant public defender for Richland County in Columbia, South Carolina, Stephen Krzyston serves as an attorney at the Cavanaugh & Thickens law firm. As part of his areas of professional experience, Stephen Krzyston assists clients facing charges as a result of field sobriety testing. Members of law enforcement use standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) to determine whether the operator of a vehicle is impaired. The tests can be used as evidence in court in most U.S. states. The SFST has three parts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these are the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg stand test. During each part of the test, a member of law enforcement aims to determine whether a driver is impaired based on physical behaviors, such as swaying while balancing or exaggerated eye movements. In South Carolina, an individual may refuse to take an SFST. Refusing does not result in the same penalties as refusing to undergo urine, blood, or breath alcohol tests. That said, refusing to participate in the SFST test may prompt a police officer to arrest an individual.
A criminal defense lawyer with substantial experience, Stephen Krzyston provides legal representation with the firm of Cavanaugh and Thickens, where he helps people facing state and federal criminal charges in South Carolina. In fact, Stephen Krzyston is well-versed in criminal defense, having represented people facing many different charges under South Carolina law, including but not limited to arson.
Title 16, Chapter 11 of the South Carolina Code of Laws defines crimes against properties and the penalties guilty offenders face following trial in the state courts. Under Article 3, the code discusses arson and other crimes related to fires. The code defines arson as the act of deliberately setting a fire or making an explosion in order to destroy a building, property, or vehicle. Moreover, the code classifies arson crimes by degree. For example, first-degree arson involves cases wherein the deliberate burning leads to a person’s serious harm or death. If found guilty of first-degree arson, South Carolina law mandates that offenders be sentenced to at least three decades in prison. Second-degree arson, on the other hand, is defined as the burning of a building intended for human occupancy that does not result in serious harm or death. People found guilty of second-degree arson will be sentenced to a minimum of 3 years in prison, and a maximum of 25 years. |
AuthorStephen Krzyston - South Carolina Attorney With Criminal Defense Focus. Archives
October 2022
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