In Florida, it is fairly common for the police to make an arrest when they find a person with pills but without a prescription. This is one of the ugly side effects of the disastrous war on drugs- drug arrests are easy, they are good for stats and police often…
In the Jacksonville, Florida area, we see a lot of drug cases involving defendants who are arrested for having prescription drugs without the prescription. The drug laws in Florida are very harsh, and prescription drug cases can come with serious penalties, sometimes with lengthy minimum mandatory prison sentences. When a…
In Florida, the police are generally not allowed to search a suspect’s vehicle unless the driver or owner gives consent to search, the police have probable cause to believe there is evidence of criminal activity inside or there is an arrest of an occupant of the vehicle and there is…
In Florida, the police generally need a search warrant to enter your home and search for illegal drugs or other evidence of criminal activity. When they do not have a search warrant, they can still try and gain legal access to your home by walking up to your door, knocking,…
In Florida, there is such a thing called a knock and announce search warrant. If the police have sufficient evidence to believe there are drugs or other evidence of criminal activity in a residence, the police can obtain a search warrant that allows them to search the premises. That does…
In Florida, trafficking in cocaine or another drug normally means a person is caught possessing a large quantity of drugs or distributing a large quantity of drugs. How much drugs needs to be possessed or distributed to qualify for a trafficking charge depends on the type of drug. For pills…
It is not always clear when a criminal case will be handled by the federal government, i.e. the United States Attorney’s Office, or the state or local government, i.e. the state attorney’s office here in Florida. For drug cases, the federal government typically likes to handle the bigger cases, and…
In order to address federal prison overcrowding issues, among other issues, the Senate is working on a bill that would reduce the federal prison population and also address racial disparities among federal inmates. The law would be called the Smarter Sentencing Act. Notwithstanding the obvious pessimism regarding anything considered “Smarter”…
When the police approach someone and stop him/her to ask questions about a crime, it is typically considered a detention in Florida. The police are not allowed to detain someone for investigation without consent or specific evidence that the person is involved in criminal activity. It is very common for…
In a possession of marijuana with intent to distribute case west of Jacksonville, Florida, the police suspected that the defendant was selling drugs. During their investigation, they placed a GPS device on his vehicle without obtaining a search warrant. Later, the police learned that a package containing marijuana was being…