In Florida, there are multiple levels of police encounters, and with each one, there may be certain legal requirements on the part of the police officer to justify the police officer’s actions. The first level encounter is a brief, consensual encounter where a police officer is not required to have…
There are a few different kinds of drug crimes in Florida. Simple possession is typically the least serious drug crime, and trafficking is the most serious. In between the two, possession with intent to sell illegal drugs is still a very serious felony crime. The crime is often associated with…
In Florida a battery is normally committed when a person forcefully touches another in an unauthorized manner. A first time battery will likely be charged as a misdemeanor crime. The charge becomes domestic battery if the victim is a relative or shares another specified relationship with the suspect. A battery…
The FBI is using more aggressive means to get personal emails and information about internet usage. In the past, the FBI was permitted to use administrative subpoenas that were not initially presented to a judge for review. These administrative subpoenas, or national security letters, were sent to internet service providers…
Over the last several years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of arrests of people in Florida for possession, sale and trafficking involving prescription narcotics like Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Roxycontin and Oxycontin. These drug crimes involving prescription pills have increased at a much greater rate than the more…
Normally in Florida, when the government plans to make something illegal, whether it is certain conduct by a person or possession of some new drug the government is afraid of, the Florida legislature will come up with a new criminal law. Congress does the same thing on the federal level.…
As criminal defense lawyers in Jacksonville and the North Florida area, a very common scenario that we see a lot occurs when police are patrolling what they call high crime areas and a suspect runs when he/she sees police in the area. A common question results from this scenario. When…
Over the last several years in Florida, drug cases involving pills such as Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Roxycontin and other pain pills have become much more prevalent as opposed to more traditional drug crimes involving marijuana, cocaine, crack and heroin. In a recent trafficking on Oxycodone case south of Jacksonville, Florida, the…
In most DUI cases in Florida, when the polcie officer makes observations indicating the driver is impaired by alcohol, the police officer will ask the driver to submit to a breathalyzer test which tests a person’s blood alcohol level after the driver blows into the breathalyzer device. In some circumstances,…
I saw an amazing statistic in an article about the number of people arrested on drug crimes in the United States last year. By “amazing”, I mean hopelessly pathetic and extremely wasteful and expensive. According to the statistics, more than 1.6 million people were arrested on drug offenses in 2010,…