Criminal Defense Attorney in Summerville, SC

Defense from someone who built cases for fourteen years

Jack Frost was a Summerville police officer and a Charleston County Sheriff's Office detective, narcotics investigator and SWAT operator before he became a lawyer. He has written the warrants, run the surveillance, handled the informants and testified in the courtrooms where he now defends clients. That background is not a slogan; it is how he finds the weak point in a case.

We handle charges in the magistrate and municipal courts of Summerville, Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties and in General Sessions (circuit) court, for adults and, in appropriate cases, juveniles and young adults facing their first charge.

Charges we defend

• Drug charges

  Possession, PWID and trafficking, from a former narcotics detective.

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• Domestic violence (CDV)

  Degrees, bond conditions, firearm consequences and defense of CDV charges.

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• DUI & DUAC defense

  Video rules, the 30-day license deadline, first-offense penalties and the defenses that work.

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• Traffic tickets

  Points, suspensions, CDL holders and why not to just pay it.

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Getting out, getting ahead, and cleaning up

• Bond hearings

  How bond is set, getting out, and changing conditions later.

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• Arrest warrants

  Confirming a warrant, surrendering with counsel, and bench warrants.

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• Expungements

  Who qualifies, waiting periods, cost and the process.

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We also defend assault and battery, shoplifting and other theft charges, disorderly conduct and open container cases, weapons charges, and probation violations. If your charge is not listed, call—if we cannot take it, we will tell you who should.

What to do right now

1. Stop talking about the case. Not to the officer, not to the “victim,” not on social media, not on a recorded jail phone. Everything you say is evidence, and a friendly conversation is the most common way a case gets finished.
2. Write down what happened. Times, places, names, what was said and by whom—while it is fresh. Keep it for your lawyer only.
3. Keep every piece of paper. The ticket, the bond paperwork, the incident report number, the court date. Photograph them.
4. Call before the first court date. Bond conditions, a no-contact order, or a missed date can create new problems before the original charge is even addressed.

How a South Carolina criminal case moves

1. Arrest or citation. A uniform traffic ticket or a warrant. Some charges start with a courtesy summons rather than an arrest.
2. Bond hearing. Usually within 24 hours of a warrant arrest, before a magistrate or municipal judge. What happens at a bond hearing.
3. Which court. Magistrate and municipal courts handle most misdemeanors with penalties up to 30 days in jail (and specific offenses the legislature assigned to them, such as third-degree domestic violence). Everything heavier goes to General Sessions.
4. Discovery and investigation. We obtain the incident report, body-camera and dash-camera video, lab results and witness statements—and we investigate on our own.
5. Resolution. Dismissal, diversion (pretrial intervention, conditional discharge, traffic education), a negotiated plea to a lesser charge, or trial. Most cases resolve before trial; the ones that do not are prepared as if they will.

Why clients choose Jack

• He reads reports and video the way the officer wrote and recorded them, and sees what is missing.
• He knows the prosecutors, officers and judges in Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties, which makes negotiation faster and calmer.
• He is direct about the likely outcomes and the cost, and he returns calls.
• A conviction follows you for employment, housing, licensing and immigration; his goal from day one is the resolution that leaves the smallest mark.

Questions people ask