In Florida, a person enjoys special protection from illegal searches and seizures in his/her home or other residence. At a minimum, this means that police officers and other agents of the state cannot just come into a person’s residence looking for evidence of criminal activity without a search warrant or…
In Florida, it is illegal for someone who has been convicted of a felony crime to own or possess a firearm. This applies to any felony conviction, so if a person who lives in Florida has a prior felony conviction from any other state, that will still prevent the person…
In criminal cases, DNA evidence is often seen as a strong indicator of the defendant’s guilt. Not many cases have DNA evidence presented by the state, but when the state does present DNA evidence, juries usually take note. DNA evidence is certainly well established evidence at this point that can…
While the Second Amendment clearly gives people the right to own and carry a firearm, there are restrictions of that right. In Florida, those restrictions can come with severe penalties if a person is in violation of the law. For instance, if a person has been convicted of a felony…
In Florida, if police obtain evidence of a crime after an illegal detention, the criminal defense lawyer can get that evidence thrown out. In a recent case near Jacksonville, Florida, the police saw some people smoking cigarettes in a public park. Smoking was prohibited in the park so the police…
In Florida, people have a strong constitutional protection to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures from the police. This protection is stronger or weaker depending on what is being searched. For instance, it is the strongest when it comes to one’s residence and somewhat weaker when it involves a…
In Florida, it is a felony crime for a person to have a firearm after he/she has been convicted of a felony crime. This is true even if the felony conviction occurred in another state. The term “possession” in the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon statute does…
In Florida, once a person has been convicted of a felony crime (whether the prior conviction was in Florida or another state), that person is not allowed to possess a firearm. That person is also not allowed to possess ammunition. It is a serious felony crime in Florida to be…
In most cases in Florida, the police cannot search a person’s property without a search warrant or consent to search. Probable cause alone is often insufficient for a search. However, there are situations where a search warrant or consent to search are not needed. In a recent case near Jacksonville,…
The Florida 10/20/Life law creates very severe penalties for people convicted of certain crimes where a gun was involved. The law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years if the defendant displays a firearm, a mandatory minimum of 20 years if the defendant discharges the firearm and a…