Last year, we posted about how violent crimes and property crimes have decreased despite the recession and difficult financial times for many people. The common thinking was that as times get tough for people, more people would commit crimes. That was not the case in 2009, and it does not…
Police in the Jacksonville area arrested 135 people, mainly in Duval County and Clay County, for either allegedly illegally possessing pills without a prescription or illegally distributing pills, according to an article on www.Jacksonville.com. According to police, the arrests occurred between September and December of this year, and the arrests…
Because people in Florida have a Constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures as well as a privacy right in their homes, police can only search one’s residence for drugs, guns or other evidence in limited circumstances. The two primary bases for legally searching one’s home are…
It is not uncommon in the Jacksonville, Florida area and throughout Florida to see people riding motorcycles without a helmet. As criminal defense lawyers in the Jacksonville, Florida area, one question we recently were asked from a client is whether the police can pull them over for not wearing a…
In a recent DUI case near Jacksonville, Florida, the defendant was pulled over by police for failing to maintain a single lane. The police officer conducted a DUI investigation and decided the defendant was impaired while driving his vehicle. The police officer observed vomit on the defendant and in his…
In a recent case outside of Jacksonville, Florida, the police were looking for someone who had a warrant for his arrest. They tracked him down to a house which had a secondary building in the back yard that was also used as a residence. The police found the suspect in…
In Florida, in order for the police to detain someone for further investigation, whether for a drug related crime or a DUI, the police must have some specific evidence of the criminal activity before going further with the investigation. In a recent case, the police observed a person slumped in…
In a recent criminal case south of Jacksonville, Florida, undercover police officers claimed the defendant illegally sold them prescription drugs Oxycodone and Xanax. The police then obtained the defendant’s pharmacy records from two different pharmacies without a search warrant or subpoena. Those records showed that the defendant was seeing two…
In this case the police officer was responding to a call regarding a missing juvenile. He went to a facility where juveniles stayed and spent time playing games and meeting with others. When he arrived, he saw the juvenile defendant in this case sleeping in the common area. There were…
As criminal defense lawyers in the Jacksonville, Florida area who handle all criminal cases in state and federal courts, we have seen how people convicted of crack cocaine crimes can receive much higher sentences than those convicted of powder cocaine crimes where the amount of powder cocaine was similar to…