The War on Drugs rages on with big government-loving police and prosecutors seeking to take property from citizens for their involvement with the marijuana plant. In a recent case near Jacksonville, Florida, the War on Drugs manifested itself in the government’s attempt to take a house from a person for…
In Florida, everyone understands that stealing items from a store is a crime. However, what may not be clear is that the conduct may be a misdemeanor or felony depending on the value of the item(s) stolen. Even less clear may be how that value is determined. This can be…
In Florida, if a driver is involved in an auto accident that results in property damage, an injury or death, that driver is required to remain at the scene of the accident and provide certain information such as driver’s license and insurance information. If the driver is involved in an…
In some of the bigger trafficking in drugs and other drug cases, one major component of the state’s case may be phone calls of the defendant that were intercepted and recorded. These phone calls intercepted without the defendant’s knowledge are often critical pieces of evidence as they may involve the…
In a recent case near Jacksonville, Florida, the defendant entered a no contest plea to solicitation of prostitution. The crime of solicitation of prostitution occurs when a person offers to engage another person in sexual activity for hire. It is considered a minor second degree misdemeanor crime in Florida. In…
In Florida, the police do have the right to approach people and suspects on the street and ask questions. The police do not need reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a person is engaged in criminal activity to approach someone and ask questions. This includes asking for identification like a…
With the events in Ferguson, Missouri all over the news, there is a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation, about when a police officer can use deadly force against a person. By deadly force, at least in Florida, we mean force that is likely to cause death or…
In Florida, it is a general practice among police officers to search a person after that person has been lawfully arrested. While most searches require consent of the person being searched or a valid search warrant, one exception is the search incident to a lawful arrest. At a minimum, this…
Over the last several years, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have focused on shutting down what they call “pill mills” and arresting and prosecuting many people involved with these alleged pill mills from office staff to doctors to owners. A “pill mill” is a pain management clinic that…
In Florida, there are certain privileges a defendant has in a criminal case that preclude the prosecution from presenting evidence to the jury. For example, private conversations between a defendant and his/her attorney, doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist and other specified individuals are privileged and cannot be discovered or admitted into…