An arrest can raise immediate questions about custody, school, and work. This post covers the first things to do if you are arrested, what can happen to a college student who is charged with a felony, and whether a charge could cost you your job. Greg McCollum answers each question below.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m a college student and I’m being charged with a felony. Will I get kicked out of school?
In the Myrtle Beach area, there are two schools: there’s the technical college, and there’s also Coastal Carolina University, which has about 10,000 students. The firm has represented many people who attended Coastal and were full-time students. Probably about 90% of them were kicked out of school immediately upon being charged with a crime, not even being convicted, just being arrested and charged.
Curiously, at the same time, the firm has had people who were charged with very serious felonies, who lived off-campus, who were not kicked out. It seems somewhat random, but that’s a big concern for a person. Many times, the student is expelled from school and issued a no-trespass order not to come back on campus.
So it’s an ordeal just for them to relocate and retrieve their possessions. In many instances, it requires the parents to come into town and basically relocate the student and take them back home where they’re from.
What are the first things I should do if I’m arrested?
You want to make it to a bond hearing and you want to be released from custody. Greg McCollum has found over the years from talking to people, and it took him a while to realize this, that when somebody is arrested, he believes they go into shock. Their body goes into shock, their life starts flashing before their eyes, they really are just in a full-blown state of panic, and don’t know what to do.
So in that instance, the important thing to do is to try to stay calm. Understand that you are going to go to a bond hearing and you are going to have an opportunity for bond to be set and for you to be released. The allegation is simply the charge.
everyone is entitled to be released on bail. The two considerations in a bond hearing are whether or not you are a flight risk, or whether or not you’re a danger to the community. Most people get a bond set and are able to be released.
Talking to law enforcement at that stage is not going to help you. You’ve already been arrested. Additionally, telephone calls out of the jail and visitations done on the telephone are all recorded, and police and prosecuting attorneys listen to those quite frequently.
I have a great job that I love. I am being charged with a crime. Could I lose my job for this?
Unfortunately, there’s a strong likelihood that you could lose your job. That largely depends upon the employer. Most of the time when someone’s arrested, their mugshot or their jail booking photo appears on the internet, sometimes in actual newspapers that are in the convenience stores.
If an employer sees that, especially if it’s a national chain type of employer, most of them have a policy that if you’re arrested and charged with a serious crime, they’re going to terminate you.
For anyone facing a criminal charge in South Carolina, choosing a defense attorney is an important decision. Greg McCollum has approximately 30 years of experience and is a former prosecutor. The Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team can review your situation and discuss the options that may be available to you.
If you have questions about being arrested or charged with a crime in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.