The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that legal immigrants should not be automatically deported after being convicted of minor drug crimes, although federal authorities may classify a second minor drug offense as an aggravated felony. Under federal law, legal immigrants are supposed to be deported after a conviction for…
In a recent trafficking in cocaine case that occurred south of Jacksonville, Florida, the criminal case was dismissed after the court found that the drugs were illegally seized when the police entered the defendant’s home without consent, a search warrant or exigent circumstances. In order for the police to lawfully…
Drug tests are used for a variety of reasons in the criminal justice system. They are used by pretrial services in Federal court to see if a person recently arrested tests positive for drugs in reference to a bond request. They are used by the probation officers in the state…
In a recent drug case that occurred south of Jacksonville, Florida, police had information that heroin, marijuana and other illegal drugs were being kept and sold at a particular house. The police conducted surveillance of the house and saw one person exit the house and sell drugs to a customer.…
A recent article has concluded something just about all of us already knew- not that 2 + 2 = 4, but something much more fundamental: that the war on drugs was a catastrophically expensive failure. The article notes that even the U.S. drug czar acknowledges that the war on drugs…
In a recent trafficking in cocaine case that took place a couple of hours south of Jacksonville, Florida, a police officer found cocaine in a person’s vehicle and arrested him after a long police encounter that was initiated as merely a traffic stop. Because the police officer too too long…
In Jacksonville and throughout Florida, when a person pleads guilty or no contest to a crime or has a trial that ends in a guilty verdict, the judge will sentence the defendant. For more serious crimes, that sentence may include jail or prison time, probation or a combination of the…
Police searched the home of a Jacksonville, Florida couple on East Stanford Road and found illegal mushrooms growing in one of the closets, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The criminal drug statutes in Florida cover possession and manufacture of many illegal drugs including these kinds of mushrooms. However, in…
Many people in Florida and throughout the country face serious challenges in getting basic health care. They do not have access to doctors and other medical providers nor do they have the ability to obtain prescriptions for necessary painkillers and other drugs used to treat their various medical conditions. These…
A cook working at the Flagler County, Florida jail was arrested for allegedly bringing drugs such as Oxycontin into the jail and giving them to inmates, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. Unauthorized possession of prescription drugs like Oxycontin is illegal, but bringing Oxycontin and other things that are not…