In Florida, it is illegal for a person to record another person’s oral communications (whether on the phone or in person) without consent of all the parties to the conversation or a court order. If the police or any other person secretly records an incriminating statement of a defendant without…
In Florida, a police officer may have a recording device in his/her vehicle. This obviously becomes important if the defendant makes statements after an arrest while sitting in the police car, whether to the officer, to another person detained in the vehicle or in any other context. Can the state…
State of the address time often means the announcement of a new unit or task force to address crimes that have been occurring with increasing regularity for some time prior to the announcement. The 2012 speech was no exception. In last month’s address, President Obama announced the creation of a…
In Florida, burglary of a dwelling is a very serious felony crime. Burglary clearly includes entering someone’s residence with the intent to steal something inside. However, in Florida, a burglary can include more than just a person’s home. A dwelling is defined as not just the home but also any…
It is clear that going onto or into someone’s property to search for evidence is a search under the Constitution, and as a result, police typically need a search warrant or consent for such a search to be valid. However, is it also a search if the police place a…
In the Jacksonville, Florida area, we have noticed more and more businesses, known as internet cafes, pop up around Jacksonville, Florida. While I have never actually visited one of the locations, I was curious as to exactly what kind of businesses they were, particularly because the one closest to the…
In Florida, in order to be charged with DUI, a person does not necessarily have to be driving the vehicle while impaired from alcohol or drugs. It is sufficient under the Florida DUI laws for a person to be in actual physical control of a vehicle. For instance, if the…
Most people in Florida understand that they have a strong privacy right in their homes. As a result, police are generally not allowed to come in and search a person’s home without a search warrant or consent. However, does this strong protection against unreasonable searches and seizures extend to the…
Over the last few years, we have seen how police in Florida have taken a much greater interest in so-called pain clinics, making a multitude of arrests of a wide range of people from the owners and doctors at the pain clinics to the people who use the prescription medication…
In Florida, in order to be charged with trafficking in marijuana, which typically carries much higher penalties than possession of marijuana, the quantity of marijuana has to be greater than 25 pounds. In a recent trafficking in marijuana case south of Jacksonville, Florida, after the defendant was arrested, the police…