Much has been made of the Florida Stand Your Ground law since it made national news with the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. The Florida Stand Your Ground law generally stands for the idea that a person can use force to protect him/herself or another from the imminent threat of unlawful…
In addition to the regular crimes of violence from a misdemeanor like battery to a more serious felony like aggravated assault, there is a specific crime in Florida that deals with injuries to an elderly person. What would normally be a misdemeanor battery could become a more serious felony charge…
The Florida Stand Your Ground Law has received national attention over the last several months because of the George Zimmerman case. The Florida Stand Your Ground Law was enacted in 2005 and provides immunity for defendants who qualify under the law. This immunity is not a defense at trial, but…
The Florida Stand Your Ground Law has received a lot of attention over the last few months. When a criminal defense attorney tries to utilize the Florida Stand Your Ground law, the criminal defense attorney is alleging the defendant is immune from prosecution under the law. In other words, the…
In a recent case just south of Jacksonville, Florida, a defendant was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and the alleged deadly weapons were plastic broomsticks. After a trial on the aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge, the jury convicted him. In Florida, a person…
In Florida, robbery involves taking the property of another with the use of violence, force or placing the victim in fear of violence. If no firearm or other weapon is used, robbery is a second degree felony which carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Of…
In Florida, false imprisonment is a felony crime. False imprisonment is normally a third degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. However, the charge can become much more serious if the victim is under 13 years of age and the child is seriously injured or…
With the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case getting so much attention along with the Florida Stand Your Ground law, we thought we would provide some examples of how the law works in practice. This is the second example we have discussed of a case where the Florida Stand Your Ground law…
The Florida Stand Your Ground law is getting a lot of national attention recently as a result of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. The Florida Stand Your Ground law and justifiable use of force laws provide as follows: 1) a person can use nondeadly force when he/she reasonably believes it…
In Florida, the crime of animal cruelty can either be a misdemeanor or a felony. Felonies are more serious and carry maximum punishments greater than one year in prison while misdemeanors carry maximum punishments of no more than one year. In Florida, misdemeanor animal cruelty is committed by killing, tormenting,…