In Florida, the police generally cannot search a person’s vehicle without consent, a search warrant or specific indications of illegal activity occurring within the vehicle. However, police can often come up with certain observations that allow them to search a person’s vehicle under certain circumstances. In a recent case near…
Most people are aware that cell phones have GPS data that allows a cell phone provider to track and determine the location of the cell phone. This can be valuable information to police officers who are looking for a cell phone, or a suspect, at any given time. Do police…
The right to privacy in one’s home and on one’s property is one of the strongest rights in the Constitution. The police are not allowed to come into one’s home and search or ask questions without consent from the resident or a valid search warrant. The fact that the police…
A lot of serious criminal arrests are the result of simple, seemingly harmless traffic stops. Many drug cases and gun cases originate from simple traffic violations that lead to traffic stops that lead to criminal investigations and searches and seizures. Of course, most DUI arrests are also the result of…
In Florida, the police are not allowed to stop a person for a drug or other criminal investigation without reasonable suspicion that the person is engaging, just engaged or is about to engage in criminal activity. This reasonable suspicion standard requires more than just assumptions. There must be some specific…
Most people in Florida enjoy the Constitutional protections that prevent the police from searching a person’s home, vehicle or other belongings without probable cause, a search warrant and/or consent. In other words, police cannot just go and enter a person’s home or search something that belongs to a person without…
In Florida, a lot of criminal cases are initiated based on fairly routine traffic stops. What might start out as a speeding or red light violation can easily turn into a DUI, felony drug or driving with a suspended license arrest. Additionally, a lot of arrest warrants are served based…
In Florida, a police officer can stop a vehicle if the vehicle’s window tinting is too dark. The Florida statute provides that the side windows on a vehicle must have a light transmittance of at least 28% in the visible light range. This can be measured by certain devices after…
In Florida, a lot of drug arrests stem from simple traffic stops. One way for a criminal defense attorney to attack such a case would be to challenge the legality of the initial stop. While this may be difficult when a police officer is prepared to testify that the suspect…
The constitution protects people in Florida and other states from unreasonable searches and seizures. That means the police cannot come up to a person and make demands, or search them, without specific evidence that the person is engaged in criminal activity or has evidence of criminal activity. The police often…