Leonard Eugene Milligan III’s Answers

Any confusion you might be experiencing is because there are several "rules" as to which crimes are misdemeanors and which are felonies. Ultimately, general rules (e.g. length of potential sentence) are occasionally overridden by statutes. If your question is why this happens--the answer is that legislatures make adjustments given a variety of factors. Crimes which are frequently committed by otherwise lawful people, e.g. an A&B or an OUI, are misdemeanors probably because the legislature...

I've always found affray to be one of the most vague criminal charges. Often, prosecutors and police officers use it when they know that the actual combatants won't testify against each other. I think self defense is a viable defense, but your lawyer should also pursue intent issues. Ultimately, because of the way most statutes or common law affrays charges are worded, it remains vague. I always file a motion to dismiss and affray charge saying that it is constitutionally vague as applied...